Hair Transplant Repair for Plug Surgery

Q:

Before and after hair transplant repair procedure with removing frontal pluggy grafts and increasing density of the fornt and top.
Before and after hair transplant repair procedure with removing frontal pluggy grafts and increasing density of the front and top. Please click on the photo to zoom in.

I am a patient from another facility who had the ” old style” circular plug grafts place in two straight lines across the front hairline. I have read on your website about you performing hair repairs? I am very interested in the various options on how a repair may be done to address my particular situation.

Can smaller follicular unit grafts be placed in front and between the large plug grafts to make it appear more natural?  Is removing the large plug grafts a more cosmetically pleasing approach?  Do you utilize the old grafts by subdividing them into individual grafts? Finally, would it be to my advantage to keep the old plug grafts and doing landscaping work around them?

Thank you,
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A:

We do perform repair hair transplant surgery for old and pluggy hair transplants on a regular basis.  But, you have to be seen and evaluated before we know what is the best plan for you.  Here is a general guideline of what needs to be done for pluggy hair transplant surgeries:

  • If the hairline is high enough and patient has enough donor hair, we do not need to remove the plugs.  We can just lower the hairline and create a transitional zone in front of the hairline followed by a more dense area to cover the visibility of the plugs.
  • Many patients may not have enough room in front due to placing their initial hairline too low.  In that case we cannot lower the hairline and need to remove the plugs.  Plug removal is done either by thinning them out (for larger plugs) or removing them completely (for mini and micrografts).
  • We also need to put follicular units between the plugs to even out the transplanted area.  That generally gives adequate density to the transplanted area and can minimize the plugginess.

I have to emphasize that you need to be evaluated by a good hair transplant surgeon and only after a close examination a surgical plan for a hair transplant repair should be designed.  Repair might seem easy, but in some cases it may be challenging and patient may require more than one hair transplant for the best result.