Surgery is hard on your body, and it may cause occasional side effects like hair loss, particularly if it’s invasive. You may be negatively affected by the anesthesia, stress, drugs, or other factors involved.
Hair loss after surgery can be caused by telogen effluvium (TE), a disorder that triggers interference in the normal hair growth cycle. Below, we discuss some of the causes of hair loss after surgery and how it is possible to get back lost hair.
Hair growth and loss: The natural cycle
There are three principal phases of the hair growth cycle: the growth stage (anagen), the regression stage (catagen), and the resting stage (telogen). Most of your hair follicles should be in the growth stage, which continues for 3 to 6 years.
The hair follicle then enters the catagen stage, where hair is cut off from the bloodstream, stopping growth and constricting for a week.
In the normal state, about 10-15% of hair follicles rest at any particular time. The resting phase takes about 100 days. Toward the end of this duration, new hair grows in under the old hair, and later, it pushes the old hair out.
Without this process, you would naturally lose between 50 and 100 hairs each day. But due to certain health incidents like surgery or ailments, more hair than anticipated is lost. Alopecia occurs when there is hair loss beyond the expected amount – where more than 30% of the hair is in the telogen stage.
Causes of post-operative hair loss
Stress and hormonal imbalance
A stressful event like surgery may cause your body to push the hair follicles to the resting phase sooner than it would under normal circumstances or by prolonging the telogen phase. Your body will redirect nutrients that are normally channelled to hair follicles to other vital organs when responding to surgical disruption.
This weakens the hair follicles and can cause them to stop producing new hair. Other major events that can cause hair loss include childbirth, chronic illness, or a severe infection.
Hair loss following surgery would likely manifest as an overall thinning of the hair on the scalp. It would not manifest in large balding patches like other forms of hair loss.
With telogen effluvium, hair follicles are triggered to enter the telogen resting phase sooner than normal, which then leads to acute hair loss. It usually occurs two to three months after a serious stressor like surgery.
Endocrine changes such as decreased levels of estrogen cause post-operative alopecia, most notably in females. The hormone cortisol, due to stress, can trigger a disruption of the hair cycle and acute loss of hair.
More severe levels of stress are prevalent among surgical patients and can actually be responsible for large amounts of postoperative hair loss. Telogen effluvium is usually reversible and can be stopped on its own several months after the withdrawal of the responsible stressor.
Anesthesia and drug side effects
A study published in the Journal of Dermatology demonstrated an increased risk of hair loss after surgery if general anesthesia is employed. The study compared the incidence of hair loss in patients who received general anesthesia with those who did not.
Results showed that alopecia areata was a significantly greater risk for individuals who received general anesthesia, with the risk varying based on the duration of the anesthetic.
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition of hair loss with the result of patchy baldness on the scalp. Hair loss is non-progressive, unlike hereditary alopecia, and hair can fall out due to flare-ups on a random basis.
Anesthesia relaxes the body and leads to a slow rate of cell division, which may be to blame for halting the hair growth cycle. Hair follicles can also be extremely sensitive to this disruption as they are among the most sensitive and fastest cells within the body.
The study concluded that the risk of hair loss was not related to the type of operation or anesthetic used and that more research is required to confirm the initial findings.
Pressure alopecia and positional alopecia
Positional alopecia results from the head being in a single position for several hours and may occur with a procedure where the head is fixed.
General anesthesia may also cause positional alopecia due to immobilization for an extended period during the surgery. Hypotensive anesthesia employed in maxillofacial surgery may pose a greater risk of acquiring positional alopecia. This can be attributed to the reduction of blood pressure during the surgery due to the hypotensive anesthesia.
Pressure alopecia may decrease blood to hair follicles, leading to hair loss. It is more common in longer surgery, during which the head does not move for a longer period.
Can a hair transplant surgery affect hair loss?
It makes sense that surgeries involving the scalp will lead to increased hair loss, but what if it’s a hair transplant surgery? The nature of this type of operation means you will most likely not experience post-surgical hair loss.
Hair transplant patients will notice some new hair growth within the first three months after the procedure. It is possible that new hair may fall out because your follicles are getting ready for new and healthy growth.
This hair shedding may be a cause for alarm after a transplant, but it is a routine side effect of the surgery. Once the transplanted hairs adjust to the hair growth cycle, they can yield healthier regrowth in balding or thinning spots.
Be wary of nutritional deficiencies before surgery
Whether you’ve had surgery or not, being deficient in certain nutrients can play a part in hair loss. Certain nutrients like protein, iron, zinc, and biotin are needed for healthy hair growth. These may support healthy hair follicles and typical hair growth cycles.
A deficiency of certain micronutrients and chemicals, such as serum zinc, ferritin, and folic acid, may result in hair loss after bariatric surgery. These types of surgeries and emergency weight reduction methods may cause telogen effluvium due to your body’s reaction to medical treatment trauma.
In this case, doctors may advise you to take medication or supplements containing hair growth vitamins, but only after ascertaining a deficiency through a blood test. Otherwise, hair growth can be stimulated by a healthy diet containing whole grains, vegetables, and fruits.
Eat lots of protein and iron before your operation
Research by the American Academy of Dermatology Association suggested a link between protein and iron intake and healthy hair growth. Eating foods high in these nutrients can reduce hair loss, but it’s unclear if there is a diet that can guarantee zero hair loss after surgery.
Steering clear of extreme hair treatments, such as too much heat or chemical treatment, will encourage new hair to grow during recovery time. Similarly, avoiding stress levels by practicing mindfulness and getting professional help if necessary may also reduce hair loss.
Some drugs consumed after surgery can cause hair loss, such as anti-seizure medication, anti-thyroid medication, and beta-blockers.
Hair loss problems and prevention
Discuss hair loss problems before surgery
Before surgery, you need to discuss with your physician or anesthesiologist the risks of potential hair loss. A doctor can help identify if you are at particular risk for hair loss due to your age and genetic makeup or for other reasons and give you a strategy to minimize it.
Marking your balding problems before surgery will allow you to anticipate any probable balding.
Preoperatively, you might ask your doctor about a head-turning schedule so you can prevent positional alopecia during a lengthy surgery or intensive care treatment.
When does hair loss after surgery stop?
In most individuals, postoperative hair loss is temporary and resolves by itself in a few months. Hair loss that occurs during surgery will generally persist for about 3 months before hair regrows.
Surgical baldness can usually be corrected, but talk with your physician about risk factors and therapy. This is because surgery leads to telogen effluvium hair loss, as it interferes with the normal cycling of hair growth and puts hair follicles into a long period of rest.
How to stop hair loss after surgery
1. Home treatment
Most of those who have hair loss can treat the condition at home without frequent consultations and clinic visits. This can be through supplement taking, gentle shampooing, conditioning, and massage of the scalp.
Mild shampoos and conditioners can potentially help make way for new hair growth while your body is healing.
Topical treatments such as those that contain salicylic acid, hydrocortisone 1%, or ketoconazole 1% may also prove useful.
2. Professional hair loss treatments
A dermatologist may prescribe one of the following professional treatments, depending on the extent of hair loss: hair transplantation, low-level laser light treatment, or platelet-rich plasma treatment.
Medical treatments can cause the regrowth of hair and enhance the density of hair. Hair loss dietary supplements containing ingredients that are dihydrotestosterone (DHT) inhibitors and vasodilators of the scalp can reverse baldness and cause hair growth.
DHT is the hormone that causes follicles to decrease in size and eventually stop the production of strands completely by a miniaturization mechanism. DHT hair loss results in people who have inherited diseases like androgenetic alopecia.
Hair transplantation is a permanent method of baldness cure by transplanting healthy hair follicles from a donor area on the scalp and implanting them in thinning or bald areas.
3. Vitamins and hair growth supplements
Hair loss vitamins may work for some conditions, but you should always consult a doctor first before you start to take them. Too much of a few vitamins, including vitamin A and vitamin E, is poisonous and will actually worsen hair loss.
A healthy, balanced diet can help you recover and your body to get the right nutrients to get well properly.
4. Regrow your hair naturally
The best treatment for hair loss following surgery in most instances is patience, as it will just take time to have new hair emerge from follicles that have just lost hair. Since hair loss following surgery is usually temporary, hair growth will usually return to normal again in 6-9 months.
Hair can grow back naturally, but it’s crucial to take good care of your hair during the recovery process to make sure you’re not impeding new growth. This means using gentle shampoos and avoiding regular stressful activities.
Conclusion: Always prepare for your surgery
How likely it is that you will lose hair after surgery is not clear, although this major stressor event may lead to your cycle of hair growth being disturbed, contributing to hair loss for a time.
Whether incisions are created in the scalp or not, your general health and how you live factor into the extent of your post-surgical hair loss potential.
In most cases, post-operative hair loss will correct itself within a few months. Surgical hair loss is traumatic, and you must discuss with your surgeon in advance whether or not you are going to lose hair. Since you will then be warned, you can attempt to minimize hair loss by doing something to prevent it or receiving post-operative treatment.
There are some post-surgical measures that can be adopted to attempt to promote hair growth. These include healthy and nutritious eating, maintaining low stress levels, home remedies, and oral drugs that have been customized for hair loss.
A hair loss supplement may give a growth boost with a mix of ingredients that have been scientifically formulated to combat causes of hair loss.
Author bio
David Donovan is a freelance writer for Hairy Hair.
