does the scar stretch affect how many grafts you have?

[tisab]

well i am here again to present a question that i did not find asked so i thought id just preset it out

 

well ill just give some back ground before i ask it, i had a HT approx 9 months ago and it seems that the scar in the back in larger than ussual but i am not sure if it is large cause the doctor made it large or if the scar stretched

 

so my questions are

 

1) if your scar stretched does that interfere in how much remaining grafts you will have to extract in the future?

 

for example if person A gets 1000 grafts and typiccally has around 5000-6000 grafts left (average) but had a scar stretch does he still have that 5000-6000 grafts left?

 

also this may be a dumb question but how can u tell if a scar is stretched or not?(cause i remember doing weights 25-30 day post op

 

thanks

[tisab]

well i am here again to present a question that i did not find asked so i thought id just preset it out

 

well ill just give some back ground before i ask it, i had a HT approx 9 months ago and it seems that the scar in the back in larger than ussual but i am not sure if it is large cause the doctor made it large or if the scar stretched

 

so my questions are

 

1) if your scar stretched does that interfere in how much remaining grafts you will have to extract in the future?

 

for example if person A gets 1000 grafts and typiccally has around 5000-6000 grafts left (average) but had a scar stretch does he still have that 5000-6000 grafts left?

 

also this may be a dumb question but how can u tell if a scar is stretched or not?(cause i remember doing weights 25-30 day post op

 

thanks

[the B spot]

It really depends on your individual laxity Tisab.

 

The accepted practice is for the Doc to remove the existing scar during each successive session.

 

However, if your scar stretches it potentially limits your session size due to the fact that your existing scar will be incorporated into your strip width.

 

For example your laxity will only allow your doc to remove a 1.4 wide strip, BUT your existing scar is 3-5mm wide.

 

Thus when you remove the scar tissue and the tissue that contains hair, your graft counts will reflect a .9 to 1.1cm wide incision, thus lessening your grafts for that session, even though a 1.4cm wide strip was removed.

 

A stretched scar will not necessarily reduce your available donor, but it may require you to undergo 2 or 3 sessions (due to laxity) to extract them or seek FUE due to scalp tightness.

[Bill - Seemiller]

tisab,

 

What B Spot said is B Spot on

 

Laxity and density are the two major things that determine how many grafts can be extracted, and surely scar stretching could impact the final count.

 

The only way to really tell if a scar has stretched is by comparing pictures - which is why I find it extremely important to take progressive pictures of not only your new hair growing in, but your scar as well. Otherwise, you just have to go by eye and guess...unless indeed somebody measured the scar height for you post op and can measure it again now.

 

Bill