Scalp Reduction and Slot Formation - Hair Restoration Deformity
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Hair Restoration Through Scalp Reduction
Balding area reduction  is a procedure that hair loss patients will often hear about in their search for the best restoration treatment. Balding area reduction also called scalp reduction involves reducing the surface area of the bald region through surgery.  Here is an illustration of several ways this can be done.

 

Scalp Reduction diagram
Diagrams of four ways that scalp reduction can be performed for hair restoration

 

In a scalp reduction procedure, bald sections of the scalp are removed. The part of the skin that has hair is then pulled to reduce the size of the bald area. The edges of the wound are then closed.

Is Scalp Reduction A Good Choice For Hair Restoration?

Scalp reduction is now considered to be an outdated procedure for addressing hair loss. It incurs high risk of complications and deformities.

Overall its disadvantages outweigh the potential benefits of the procedure. These include:

  • Risk of necrosis, or tissue death due to a lack of blood and oxygen.
  • Abnormal elevation of the periauricular hairline caused by pulling the scalp area inwards
Scalp reduction resulted in the elevation of hairline around the ears in the top right hand photos fixed by Dr U
With the help of beard hair grafts, this hopeless repair case was able to achieve abundant coverage for scars and low density areas.*
  • Reduced hair density in the donor region caused by stretching
  • Possibility of the skin stretching in the opposite direction, restoring the original surface area of baldness. This of course defeats the purpose of hair restoration
  • Formation of a slot, where a visual dichotomy is evident as regions of hair with opposite growth patterns are placed side by side. (Shown in the before patient photo below) This is more likely to occur in the of patients with a relatively small balding area in the crown.
Slot deformity of the crown caused by scalp reductio, before and after UGraft hair transplant repair by Dr U
Slot deformity of the crown caused by scalp reductio, before and after UGraft hair transplant repair by Dr U*
  • Expansion of the scar as shown in photos below:
Expansion of scap reduction scar shown in the top right corner photos fixed by Dr U in the after photos below it
Expansion of scap reduction scar shown in the top right corner photos fixed by Dr U in the after photos below it*

 

  • Hair loss, or alopecia around the scar
  • Loss of feeling due to damaged nerves (hyposthesia)

 

Scalp reduction procedures are no longer considered to be viable treatment options in hair restoration. Follicular Unit Extraction is able to give results that do not include any type of linear scarring. And advanced techniques (e.g. body hair transplant) can be customized to address a wide range of hair loss challenges to give excellent results without the risk of cosmetic disfigurement.

However, scalp reduction can be performed for accident patients, burn victims and individuals with certain types of congenital birth defects.

UGraft FUE Instead of Flap Surgery For Hair Restoration

Temporoparietal Occipital flap surgery tends to have high complication rates and results are cosmetically unacceptable.  Advanced UGraft Follicular Unit Extraction for the restoration of hair as a superior alternative to the flap surgery and it can be used to repair the poor outcomes of antiquated hair surgeries as shown in these videos:

https://youtu.be/eH0L0ygXgUg?list=PLHNSPUQnYInL-icJplGtG3L3XKIlx1M-K

 

Or this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjLK-oq2RfQ&list=PLHNSPUQnYInL-icJplGtG3L3XKIlx1M-K&index=130

 

The newer technique of extracting follicular units (natural groupings of hair) has a wide range of applications. For example, finer hair from the nape and other parts of the body can be artistically used for detailed hairline transplant purposes. FUE can also offer severely bald individuals excellent results through body hair transplantation, as Dr. Umar has demonstrated.  The extraction of individual hair grafts leaves small round wounds in the donor area that eventually heal. There are no linear scars to hide or worry about.

Read more on Dr U hair transplant repair procedure of botched hair surgeries

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
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