How Common Are Poor Quality Hair Transplant Results?

This comment, addressed by Coalition [tag]hair restoration[/tag] surgeon Dr. William Lindsey, was shared by a member of our Hair Loss Social Community and Discussion Forums: 

It’s been 15 months since my [tag]hair transplant[/tag] on both temples, and I’m unfortunately unhappy with my results. One of my temples turned out great, the other one is very thin, with the hair direction off with my normal hair, and, really weird, I still have some thick stubbly hairs there.

I’m interested on what’s everyone else’s take on this?

Three of our frontal cases a year have better [tag]hair growth[/tag] density on one side or the other that I can see from close conversational distance. Why? No idea. Now I can tell you that when we have a staff review that the placer on the good side thinks it’s her skill that allowed for a better result. But the problem with that theory is that half the time it’s on the side of each placer and the other 100 frontal cases aren’t different. So if indeed you were shaved in that area and packed and the [tag]follicular unit[/tag] grafts were handled gently, well you may never figure out why.

As to the orientation. Just like with trees, if I dig a hole in your yard aiming northeast and have your nextdoor neighbor plant the tree, well it’ll aim northeast. So the direction is the doctor’s job. But, in repair cases, I have to match the angle of the newly placed hair to the stuff that is already there, even if it’s too straight up or the multiple directions look even worse.

Give your hair transplant surgeon a call and stop in. Odds are, a small touch up would solve your problem. Every single year, I end up offering two guys a little hairline touch up, often with [tag]follicular unit extraction[/tag] ([tag]FUE[/tag]), and one takes me up on it. The other one may not have even noticed the issue till I foolishly, but honestly, brought it up.

Dr. William Lindsey
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David
Editorial Assistant and Forum Co-Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q & A Blog.