SCAR HEALING AFTER FUT HAIR TRANSPLANTATION
The FUT hair transplant technique is also called the “strip technique” and is often used to cover baldness. It provides excellent density and high quality thousands of grafts in a single operation. The downside? This intervention leaves a scar that can be seen one day behind the skull if you want to shave your head. Note, however, that there are now several ways to hide this wound. Here are some solutions offered to you …
Why does the FUT method sometimes cause a visible scar?
To better understand where the wound associated with a FUT transplant is coming from, it is important to know how this operation takes place.
It all starts with removing a strip of skin from the back of the skull, from the donor area, that is, not bald. The doctor cuts a horizontal strip about 1 cm wide and variable in length on the scalp. The area is then closed with stitches using an absorbable thread (which does not need to be removed). The scar provided with hair length of more than about 5 mm than immediately invisible. The dexterity and experience of the practitioner, the best technique used for closure (with the trichophytic technique), as well as the flexibility and healing ability of the patient’s skin have a direct impact on the future appearance of the wound.
Therefore, after a FUT transplant, some people may only have a more or less visible scar on the back of the skull when the hair is cut or cut too short to be less than 5mm.
Different solutions to hide scars after hair transplantation
In order for hair transplantation to be completely invisible and the result obtained to be completely natural throughout the skull, there are different methods to hide the post-transplant scar.
Correct the old scar with a trichophytic suture.
To fix an old, unsightly scar, it may be possible to remove the visible white portion of the scar by removing it through an ultra-delicate incision that will be closed immediately invisibly using a very thin absorbable suture. The trichophytic technique allows the hair to return to a new scar.
Having a FUE transplant
For a wound it is possible for a correct FUT transplant or for any other origin, a hair transplant can be referenced by the FUE sampling method. As a matter of fact, it leaves very few traces during transplantation that cannot be seen with the naked eye. However, like the strip technique, it does not make it possible to transplant so many grafts, which is fine because the area to be covered is extremely thin.
This method consists of manually extracting individual hair follicles from the back of the head using a small, sensitive skin piercing device or micro punch. This procedure offers very high sensitivity and lesions of the scalp are much finer than a FUT technique. The grafts are then placed in the scar. They allow very natural regrowth of the scar without damaging other hair. Only small scabs appear for about ten days until the scar is completely hidden.
Create an optical illusion with SMP or Dermopigmentation.
However, if you do not want to have a new graft, it is also possible to hide the scar with the micropigmentation scalp technique or the dermopigmentation process (SMP). Simply put, this is a type of scalp tattoo that mimics the presence of shaved hair on the scalp. The idea is to simulate the presence of hair by drawing many small dots on the bald area.
Dermopigmentation is performed under local anesthesia, and with one exception, it is similar to a traditional tattoo: colored pigment is deposited on the surface layer of the dermis. Traditional tattooing, on the other hand, injects the pigment deeply. In fact, staying at a superficial level to the skin prevents the spread and growth of the medical ink. Therefore, dermopigmentation remains very natural even over time. This trompe l’oeil can sometimes fade slightly over the years and more or less quickly depending on the products used on the scalp and lifestyle of the patient. Therefore, it might require some touch-up. Besides this minor discomfort, dermopigmentation is a great way to camouflage a scar in a minimally invasive manner and can be obtained in as little as six months after a hair transplant.
If you are worried about having a hair transplant due to possible scars, you now know that solutions are possible to hide or fix an old scar. In addition, FUT transplants are increasingly complex, and the scars formed are often very fine and almost invisible when the hair grows a few millimeters. So there is good reason to dare to dive.
