Question for Docs

[rna]

I just wanted to ask a few questions to the docs about the donor scars from a strip procedure. I was at a seminar of one of the HT surgeons in Sydney. His name is Dr Barry White. He had a few models showing their HT's. He is supposed to be one of the best in Oz. When I saw the donor scars they where up to 5mm thick in some spots and nowhere were they less than 2mm thick. Also the base of the FU's did not look they were flush with the skin. It looked like the hair was coming out of a small bump of skin. Is that how a FU HT and donor scar is supposed to look? Because that did not look like a pencil line scar. The hair looked natural from far away but when you come up close you can tell that it isn't. I thought with FU HT's you can tell the difference. Can the docs please tell me if they are the results I should expect of is he just a crappy doc?

 

rna

[rna]

I just wanted to ask a few questions to the docs about the donor scars from a strip procedure. I was at a seminar of one of the HT surgeons in Sydney. His name is Dr Barry White. He had a few models showing their HT's. He is supposed to be one of the best in Oz. When I saw the donor scars they where up to 5mm thick in some spots and nowhere were they less than 2mm thick. Also the base of the FU's did not look they were flush with the skin. It looked like the hair was coming out of a small bump of skin. Is that how a FU HT and donor scar is supposed to look? Because that did not look like a pencil line scar. The hair looked natural from far away but when you come up close you can tell that it isn't. I thought with FU HT's you can tell the difference. Can the docs please tell me if they are the results I should expect of is he just a crappy doc?

 

rna

[Guest]

No, the scar is not supposed to be that wide. There shouldn't be any bumps or pitting where the hair emerges from the scalp either. Stay away from that doctor. Look at Jotronic's page, that's how it's supposed to be done. www.jotowen.com

 

oops -sorry, I just realized your post was meant for a doctor to answer. Well, that's my 2 cents anyway.

[Guest]

All donor wounds are supposed to be closed under minimal tension. It is the amount of tension on the edge of the wound that determines the width of the scar. However, some patients for unknown reasons end up with a wider than average scar even after the wound was closed under minimal tension. The degree of skin laxity and if the patient has had prior surgeries (scarring) also plays a role in donor closure. The goal I set for my patients after their first surgery is that the person who cuts their hair 3-4 months later will have a difficult time finding where the donor hair was taken from. Also, in most cases of follicular unit hair transplantation there should be no unlevelness where the hairs exit the scalp.

This type of procedure is so delicate that no measurable scarring or skin abnormalities should occur in the recipient area. Don't forget some people just scar easier and do not heal as well as others.

[rna]

Thanks for the reply Doc. I understand that some people scar and heal differently but the thing is that both of the models had very thick scars and both of the models hair looked like it was coming out of little "skin mounds". I had a bit of an accident a few years ago and had to have 9 stitches on the top of my head and that left a scar that was very thin. Is that the type of donor scar I should expect from my first HT procedure?

 

Thanks again for your reply.

rna