Fut Scar Progress. Any Suggestions? (pics)

[Tano1]

Hello everyone I'm checking back in here because I underwent an FUT procedure since I'm a diffuse thinner and wanted the higher yield. Boy have I already regretted it.

Here is what you guys need to know about FUT

1. With average donor hair like mine, the scar isn't noticeable with DRY hair above a 3. My back and sides are past a 4 guard already and when I step out of the shower I can see the missing hair or a visual of the scar. It will be less noticeable as pinkness finally fades but I will still be able to see the missing hair. I've seen someone else on another forum complain about this.

2. I can feel the scar all the way around (if that matters to anyone). Its mostly just the absence of hair that I'm feeling that I'm almost positive
would be greatly minimized should I FUE into it.

3. I got lucky with half of my scar and got cursed with the other half. So half of my scar isn't even noticeable except for slight pinkness. The other half I wasn't so fortunate with and looks like it widened a bit and is very slightly more raised than the better half.

4. The scar is slightly bigger than what I thought. I noticed after buzzing my hair and seeing some missing patches where the sutures were at.

So with the unfortunate luck I had, one bright side to this is that my scar is almost flat all the way through which will make concealing it with fue or other methods much more effective. It's also blending in pretty good with my skin so maybe I'll get lucky although it's too soon to tell since I'm only at 3 months. Possibility that it could widen still, but I doubt it.

The 2 pics I'll post shows both sides of my head where my scar is. One side is almost invisible which I'm sure you'll be able to see the very thin line. The other side will have an arrow pointing to the worst part of my scar where it widened which is on one side of my head. You. can also see where the sutures caused additional loss in the donor area and where there's still pinkness. I couldn't take pics of the back of my head cuz it's tough to get the angle but just know it looks good.

Bottom line is: don't go to doctors who are still using the old closure methods. Use docs who are credible and have practiced more advanced techniques like the trichophytic closure. These people told me my hair could be cut short and later went on to tell me a 4 and above. Guess I should've asked them to define short.

Will get FUE or BHT in the future to address the scar and hopefully be able to cut my hair with a 1 guard again. For now, all I can do is pray.

Any suggestions, advice, or opinions?

 

[Tano1]

Oh and also I took the pics with flash at night and purposefully tried to get the worst possible angle and worst look of my scar so that way there's no concerns on lighting or angles. From most angles scar looked. better. Also I waited to shower so my hair would show itself thinner.

 

[Tano1]

Unfortunately, to me both look pretty obvious. There are plenty of issues with FUT chief amongst them being this scarring and follicle damage along the incisions. I would never choose FUT full stop.

Have you considered shaving the area and treating it first? You could, for example, use creams and silicone sheets. You could laser it.

In real time the first half of the scar looks acceptable to me since I can't really see it and is pretty flat. The other half is slightly raised and ofc you can see it has widened. What I'm hopeful for is that since they look like they'll blend into my skin tone pretty well, then I might not have to do anything except get some fue and/or bht so I can try to buzz down to a 1. I do want to try and treat it with lasers, silicone, creams, or injections, but I heard those are only temporary??? I definitely have thought about shaving and going through some form of treatment as long as it's permanent before transplanting into the scar. My goal is to buzz to a 1 without having anybody notice a thing. I've seen pics where the scar was concealed very well and they had it buzzed down.

 

[shookwun]

FUT takes more skills essentially. the art of closure, and having a seemingly good scar has a lot to with the surgeons technique, but our own bodies healing capabilities takes a role. Statistics don't lie, and FUT has the lowest transect ion rate and best grafts when properly harvested within the safest zone. Which is under the boney ridge at the back of the head.

It's much easier to plug holes, transect, and eventually get the grafts you need without knowing. Which is why we see a huge increase in FUE chop chops. They require minimal skill, but can do loads of damage. But under the right hands FUE is flawless.


I had a FUT done with Rahal, and managed to have a pencil thin like scar to the point where i get low fades, and you cannot see it. IMy passed FUE doctor even commended him on how well the strip incision was done. to the point where I asked if we should graft the scar, and he saw no point. We adressed one corner where my hair was naturally thin with 30-40 grafts, but that's about it.


People with diffuse scalps are generally not good candidates for FUT based on camouflaging, and blending issues alone (aesthetic)b


As for the scar, BHT to provide closure. Donor is precious, and I would say 250 grafts FUE based on your strip size would be a waste. I would approach a scar with 80%, 20% FUE.

 

[Pequod]

If you get a second FUT an experienced doctor can remove that scar in the next procedure and do a better closure. I have had two FUT and only have one scar.

 

[Blair]

So you just had the transplant three months ago? If that's the case, I would say, give the scar time to heal before making any judgments/decisions. It will fade as the skin heals and breaks down scar tissue over time. You would be surprised how much a scar can change over a year period.

My opinion would be to Forget about it for now, but there are options if you are unsatisfied with the outcome later.

 

[Tano1]

FUT takes more skills essentially. the art of closure, and having a seemingly good scar has a lot to with the surgeons technique, but our own bodies healing capabilities takes a role. Statistics don't lie, and FUT has the lowest transect ion rate and best grafts when properly harvested within the safest zone. Which is under the boney ridge at the back of the head.

It's much easier to plug holes, transect, and eventually get the grafts you need without knowing. Which is why we see a huge increase in FUE chop chops. They require minimal skill, but can do loads of damage. But under the right hands FUE is flawless.


I had a FUT done with Rahal, and managed to have a pencil thin like scar to the point where i get low fades, and you cannot see it. IMy passed FUE doctor even commended him on how well the strip incision was done. to the point where I asked if we should graft the scar, and he saw no point. We adressed one corner where my hair was naturally thin with 30-40 grafts, but that's about it.


People with diffuse scalps are generally not good candidates for FUT based on camouflaging, and blending issues alone (aesthetic)b


As for the scar, BHT to provide closure. Donor is precious, and I would say 250 grafts FUE based on your strip size would be a waste. I would approach a scar with 80%, 20% FUE.

Thanks for your input and sharing your own experience. My thoughts were to do a scar revision but with trichophytic closure this time and add any grafts they get to my second scar and perhaps even some bht as well. I'm not even wanting to try to get my hair back anymore after this honestly. I just want to make sure I can buzz my hair to a 1 or a 2 and pretty much get on with life and let nature take its course. You think that would work for me?

 

[Tano1]

If you get a second FUT an experienced doctor can remove that scar in the next procedure and do a better closure. I have had two FUT and only have one scar.

Thanks for the tip. I do plan to get a second procedure but it'll honestly just be to address the scar. I've seen some amazing trichophytic closures and perhaps some bht into it as well after that. did you have your scar repaired the second time? If so how short can you cut your hair?

 

[Tano1]

So you just had the transplant three months ago? If that's the case, I would say, give the scar time to heal before making any judgments/decisions. It will fade as the skin heals and breaks down scar tissue over time. You would be surprised how much a scar can change over a year period.

My opinion would be to Forget about it for now, but there are options if you are unsatisfied with the outcome later.

Thanks for replying and I will wait for the scar to mature and fully heal, but the thing is that I've only heard of scars widening over time. Now I don't think mine will widen anymore, but they way it is now I don't think it'll just get smaller with more time. My scar feels pretty much flat all over so I'm thankful I at least don't have to deal with those horrible raised scars that can make it stand out. Wish I wasn't so naive knowing about the trichophytic closure and allowing a doctor to use a very old closure method with those blue sutures that can cause hair transection around their area as well. But low and behold, they convinced me that the trichophytic closure wasn't a good method to stitch you back up because of so many complications...