Hair plugs, hair rotation flaps, bad hairlines, bad strip scars, no results, no follow-ups, are just a few of the many things that can go wrong during hair transplant surgery.  The most important question every potential patient needs to answer is who is performing the surgery.  If you had a bad outcome after hair transplant surgery the good news is that many mistakes made at the time of surgery are fixable.  The following are a few of the most common adverse outcomes we have encountered in our San Diego hair transplant practice.

1) Unnatural results:

Hair transplants should lead to results that appear perfectly natural.  The artistry required for hairline creation requires years of experience to get right.  A common mistake we see is a densely packed area of transplanted hair surrounding by areas of prominent hair loss.  Dr. Kolstad recommends against hair transplants too early in life.  It is important that a person declares their pattern of balding before performing a hair transplant.  Temporal hair restoration can lead to unnatural outcomes if a person later loses their frontal hairline.

2) FUT strip scar:

FUT hair transplant is surgery that involves removing a 2” x 10” section of scalp from the back of the head. A scalpel is used to excise the strip of scalp and the incision is closed in multiple layers. Even with meticulous closure, a long, curvilinear scar will be present in the back of the head.
Using state-of-the-art Neograft FUE technology hair grafts can be removed one at a time.  The stigmata of a “strip scar” is now a thing of the past thanks, automation and sophisticated machinery.  If you are interested in keeping your hair short or shaving your head after hair restoration in San Diego you should strongly consider giving Kolstad Hair Restoration a call.

3) Hair plugs:

Fortunately, round hair plugs are not encountered very often anymore.  A “hair plug” is also called a round graft.  Round grafts are groupings of 10-30 hairs placed using punch biopsies in the scalp.   Patients receiving hair transplants in the 1970s-1980s we commonly treated using round grafts leading to hairlines resembling dolls hair.

Many people with hair plugs are surprised and very relieved to know that there are treatments available.  The groupings of hair that were placed using a punch biopsy technique can also be excised using a biopsy technique.  Dr. Kolstad and his hair team can sometimes section the round grafts into viable micrografts.

For more information about hair transplant surgery please visit our informational page here.  Don’t forget to view Dr. Kolstad’s gallery of Before & After images.

If you would like to know more about hair transplant in San Diego and would like to consult with Dr. Kolstad at his La Jolla Hair Restoration Surgery office. Give us a call at 858.859.2563 to schedule your appointment today.

We are conveniently located in La Jolla between the I5 and I805 freeways.  We are dedicated to plastic surgery of the face and neck and enjoy serving men and women in La Jolla, Del Mar, San Diego, Rancho Santa Fe, Solana Beach, Encinitas and Southern California.