Plastic Surgery Articles

We will all see the effects of aging in our faces at some point. All of a sudden our eyelids will become droopy, our skin will become a little looser around the neck and jaw line and we may even see deeper creases in our foreheads and in the skin lining our lips and mouths. All of these changes come with age, sun exposure and daily stress.

While we may not be able to reverse the signs of aging completely, there are various forms of plastic surgery that can help turn back the clock. But what are the consequences? A recent article published by William R. Rassman, MD and Jae Pak, MD reveal the unspoken truth of facial plastic surgery — some procedures can cause hair loss and severe scarring at the base of the hair line, leaving patients with devastating results.

The sad truth is most plastic surgeons do not discuss the possible side effects with their patients, and until now, it has not been publicly addressed. The purpose of the April 2008 article is to expose the truth behind facial plastic surgery and address the problem.

According to the authors, the most common procedure to make the face appear more youthful, an open brow lift, can cause multiple types of hair problems. This procedure can leave its patients with a 3 to 7 mm-wide scar which can result in an uneven, elevated hair line and may even result in permanent hair loss at the temple peaks or at the base or corners of the hairline.

The hairline may be elevated to such an extreme after an open brow lift that, according to the authors, the aesthetic proportions of the facial beauty can be permanently lost.

“As the frontal hairline frames the upper one-third of the face, the proper location of the hairline is critical in achieving a balanced facial symmetry,” says Rassman and Pak.

According to the authors, hair transplant surgeons are now recognizing the problem and are thankfully learning how to overcome it. They say the most common scalp scars seen are the result of brow and face lifts.

Some scars can come back after other forms of corrective surgery and will require hair transplants using a method known as dense packing, which means placing each hair graft in very close proximity to one another to hide visible scar tissue. This form of hair transplant has been successful in treating scars and in bringing back aesthetic proportions in the face.

While plastic surgeons may not be discussing the possible outcome of facial plastic surgery, hair transplant surgeons are aware of the effects and are working harder than ever not only to reveal the possible consequences, but to fix any damage done to these patients.