A Case of Failed Hair Transplant Involving 3,000 Grafts

Hello, this is Dana Plastic Surgery, where we do hair transplants as planned.   A hair transplant failure that we often think of is a visible surgical outcome failure, such as the density being too low or the hairline looking unnatural.    Today, in addition to these common cases, we will introduce a hair transplant failure case caused by a diagnostic error.

Inquiry: “ I’m a man in my 30s who had surgery this year. At the first consultation, we were supposed to transplant 3,000 grafts. But after the surgery, the hospital said that more hair than expected had come out, so they transplanted 5,000 grafts. They didn’t ask for any additional payment, so I thought it was actually a good thing, but after some time passed and I thought about it, it seems strange.. Was this surgery done well? ”

If more grafts were transplanted than the number determined at the initial diagnosis, then even if there was no additional cost, it cannot necessarily be said to be good, and I do not think it is desirable.

Before surgery, the medical staff in charge makes a diagnosis about which areas will be covered and at what density.

At this stage, the diagnosis is made by predicting based on the area of the transplant site, occupation (considering hairstyles suitable for the job), hairstyle preference, thickness of the existing hair, and so on. The predicted diagnosis result is then explained to the patient during the consultation.

However, transplanting 5,000 grafts, which is far more than the 3,000 grafts initially diagnosed, can be considered a diagnostic error.

This kind of case is also a problem that often occurs in strip surgery. In the case of non-shaven FUE, the machine counts each hair as it is extracted one by one, so situations like this happen less often.

On the other hand, in strip surgery, the density is diagnosed by multiplying the width and length that I design and determining how many hairs are present per cm². In hair transplant clinics with a certain amount of experience, it is possible to predict accurately and remove almost exactly by using equipment such as a scalp diagnostic device.

However, saying that 2,000 more grafts were transplanted ultimately means that it can be seen as a hair transplant failure. A difference of a few hundred grafts from the initially diagnosed number is understandable, but a difference this large suggests that either the initial diagnosis was wrong, or the diagnosis of the donor area at the time of surgery was wrong, and should be considered a diagnostic error.

A hair transplant is not a surgery that makes new hair grow; it is a transplant surgery that moves the hair you already have. Because of that, it is a surgery where you have to achieve the greatest efficiency with limited resources. That is why it is important to choose a clinic with a lot of experience.

Therefore, a result in which the graft count differs so much cannot be considered desirable. If you are looking into or planning a hair transplant, please use this as a reference, and I hope you achieve a good surgical result.