REPAIRS
Repairs
Dr Mwamba has been performing repairs on failed hair transplants both on the recipient area as well as FUT scars and FUE overharvesting since 2008. Known for never turning a patient away no matter the technical difficulty or amount of scaring he has successfully repaired over 500 patients using BHT and scalp grafts.
Hairline repairs
This procedure usually involves re-designing the entire hairline, removing old plugs which are dissected under a microscope to be utilized again and implanting new single graft follicles to achieve a natural and soft looking hairline. These cases normally present an extra challenge due to scar tissue blood supply limitations but when done correctly a full and natural hairline can be achieved. Removing hair follicles from the hairline is a slow and lengthy process that almost always requires stitches to avoid irregularities on the skin.
Donor restoration.
There are two types of donor repairs, lineal scars from previous FUT scars and depletion from FUE overharvesting.
FUT scar repair
Scar repairs are the most difficult ones due to the amount of scar tissue present and lack of blood vessels. Each case has to be analyzed by Dr Mwamba and a patch test might be required where a few grafts are transplanted into the scar to assess survival and growth at 6 months to determine whether we can proceed grafting the entire scar. This is done to preserve the patient’s donor supply.
Another strategy when repairing an FUT scar is to graft the entire scar at low density and assess survival at 6 months. Grafting scars with BHT or scalp grafts usually returns pigmentations and blood supply to the area making a second pass more successful than the first.
FUE overharvesting repair
On the contrast, FUE overharvesting repairs are less challenging. The scar tissue present from FUE extractions is not as deep and with proper management we can re-implant hair taken from the chin, chest, or scalp to densify areas that have been depleted.
Despite our best efforts and protocols, we cannot guarantee any survival % on a repair case and patients must be aware that scar tissue and fibrosis present a challenge having less blood supply than a healthy scalp.
Please note that PRP is mandatory in all repair cases for both graft preservation and injected into the recipient tissue to increase the chances of survival and creation of new blood vessels.