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Hair Loss After Surgery?

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  • Hair Loss After Surgery?

    Hello Everyone,

    First and foremost, let me just say I've followed this forum for quite some time but have never posted before. Everyone's personal experiences and advice helped me get through the stress of pre-surgery jitters and post-surgery questions.

    Now, I have a question for everyone. I had surgery on 8/28/09 and starting at about 10 weeks post op, my hair started falling out and since then it has progressed tremendously. I can run my fingers through my hair and easily pull out 5-10 hairs at a time. Brushing my hair after the shower is a nightmare and completely depressing! I think I've lost about 1/3 (if not more) of the volume of my hair.

    I've had blood work done and everything came back normal. I started taking a multi-vitamin as well as Biotin 5000 but it still just keeps falling out. My surgeon said he'd never heard hair falling out after surgery. Has anyone else experienced this? If so, what did you do and when did it stop?

    I think the stress of the hair loss is making it even worse! Any advice would greatly help!

  • #2
    There was a recent discussion on this topic of hair loss. Here's the thread.
    http://scoliosis.org/forum/showthread.php?t=9528

    Comment


    • #3
      Hi there! I had surgery on September 30th 2009 and I too experienced hair loss. I'm 18 and female and of course it was depressing. However I experienced hair loss for the first few weeks after surgery and then it slowed down. I take vitamin E and a protein called biotin for hair and nail support and it seems to help. I also wash my hair with gentle shampoo ike Johnsons baby shampoo haha. My doctor did say that happens because a huge stress has happened to your body. Of course eating a diet with lots of protein is good because hair and nails are mostly made up of protein. Hope that helps! Maliha

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      • #4
        Moriah,

        It's pretty common to lose hair from general anesthesia: I've been under over well over a dozen times, and every single time I've "shed" more than normal for the first 2-3 months.

        I didn't seem to notice any more with fusion surgery, but some do.

        At any rate, it should level out for you soon.

        Regards,
        Pam
        Fusion is NOT the end of the world.
        AIDS Walk Houston 2008 5K @ 33 days post op!


        41, dx'd JIS & Boston braced @ 10
        Pre-op ±53°, Post-op < 20°
        Fused 2/5/08, T4-L1 ... Darrell S. Hanson, Houston


        VIEW MY X-RAYS
        EMAIL ME

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        • #5
          Hi Moriah,

          Welcome to this forum. You couldn't be in a better place!!!

          After my surgery, I would take a shower, comb my hair and clumps would be in my comb. Then I would sit outside and my hair would come out when the wind blew.

          It does grow back, so don't fret. Any other questions you may have can most likely be answered here. The people here really care about others that are contemplating the surgery, or have had it. It was a life saver for me.

          Welcome again, and have a Merry Christmas,
          Shari

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          • #6
            I thought I was going to end up bald. Every time I showered I couldn't believe how much fell out. I thinkit tapered off by about 6 months. Of course I always have seasonal shedding too, beginning in the fall, and the surgical hair loss was on top of that. I am perfectly normal now.

            Does it look like you have thin patches? If not, it's probably normal from the anesthesia.
            __________________________________________
            Debbe - 50 yrs old

            Milwalkee Brace 1976 - 79
            Told by Dr. my curve would never progress

            Surgery 10/15/08 in NYC by Dr. Michael Neuwirth
            Pre-Surgury Thorasic: 66 degrees
            Pre-Surgery Lumbar: 66 degrees

            Post-Surgery Thorasic: 34 degrees
            Post-Surgery Lumbar: 22 degrees

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            • #7
              It sounds like it's a fairly common complaint after surgery.

              I was also thinking perhaps antibiotics given during surgery could be the cause. My daughter lost 1/3 of her hair volume whilst on a trip from Tunisia to China. She was hospitalised with a bad flu-type illness in Libya and given penicillin. She has since found out the dose she was given was 3 x the normal dose. A couple of months later, the hair loss began and continued for a further 6 months. A year later, she's regained most of it. She also gained some curls.
              Surgery March 3, 2009 at almost 58, now 63.
              Dr. Askin, Brisbane, Australia
              T4-Pelvis, Posterior only
              Osteotomies and Laminectomies
              Was 68 degrees, now 22 and pain free

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              • #8
                Moriah,
                We had our surgery around the same time.I too have had hair loss my daughter is a hairdresser and she said its normal after surgery.I don't have bald spots or anything my hair is really long so about 2 weeks ago trimmed about 2 inches off and now I hardly notice any falling out.
                Aug.17,09 Anterior
                Aug.20,09 Posterior
                Fused T-10 to Sacral Pelvis
                Cedars-Sinai
                Dr.Pashman

                Sheri 47 years young
                Husband married 30 years
                3 kids 29,28,25
                4 grandkids 10,8,5,3

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                • #9
                  Hi Moriah,
                  While in hospital, i too commented on how i seemed to have hair falling everywhere. The nurse who washed and dryed my hair, said it was normal, but that at about 3-4 months post-op, patients sometimes shed their hair due to the stress of surgery placed on the body. It is nothing to be alarmed about she said, however, sometimes surgery and another underlying cause at the same time makes things look worse. The suggestions of protein based supplements made above, i agree with. Hope everything settles for you.
                  Vali
                  44 years young! now 45
                  Surgery - June 1st, 2009
                  Dr David Hall - Adelaide Spine Clinic
                  St. Andrews Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia
                  Pre-op curve - 58 degree lumbar
                  Post -op - 5 degrees
                  T11 - S1 Posterior
                  L4/5 - L5/S1 Anterior Fusion

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