Losing hair after surgery may be triggered by anesthesia during your procedure, stress, or some aspect of the procedure itself. A dermatologist can advise you on how to regrow your hair.
Post-surgery hair loss is most commonly caused by telogen effluvium (TE), a condition that’s triggered by a disruption of your normal hair follicle growth cycle.
Normally, you lose between 50 to 100 hairs per day. However, sometimes certain health events, such as surgeries or underlying medical conditions, can cause hair follicles to not produce hairs as they should.
While hair loss after surgery is possible, it’s usually temporary. If you’re concerned about hair loss after your operation, speak with your doctor about the possible risk factors and treatment options.
In a typical hair growth cycle, your follicles go through a growth process that lasts for a few years at a time. Hair follicles don’t continuously produce new hairs — they cycle through resting phases known as telogens.
It’s estimated that
If the proportion of telogen hairs is 30% or greater, it’s an indication of telogen effluvium, one of the most common forms of hair loss.
Surgery can sometimes put your hair follicles in a longer resting state than normal. Rather than large bald spots associated with alopecia areata, you’re more likely to see progressively thinner hair as a result of TE.
Surgery may cause TE-related hair loss in the following ways:
Stress
Invasive surgery can put your body and your mind under a lot of stress.
According to the American Skin Association, hair loss after a major stressful event of this nature is most likely to occur within 3 to 6 months.
Your body needs certain nutrients for hair growth, such as:
- biotin
- iron
- zinc
- protein
A stressful event, like surgery, may cause your body to divert these nutrients away from your vital organs. This can lead to hair thinning and TE.
Positional alopecia
Though rare, this type of hair loss occurs from your head being in one position for several hours at a time, which can occur during a procedure where your head is immobilized. This can cut blood flow to your hair follicles.
Positional alopecia isn’t as common in short procedures because your head isn’t in one spot for too long.
Positional alopecia is also possible after extensive reconstructive surgeries, due to the length of time spent laying in one position.
Anesthesia
Some research believe there is a connection between anesthesia and hair loss. According to one
The researchers tried to determine whether there is also a link between general anesthesia and alopecia areata. Researchers compared hair loss in people who had general anesthesia with those who did not. They found that the risk of alopecia areata was significantly higher in the group that received general anesthesia, with the risk increasing the longer the anesthetic lasted.
The study’s researchers determined that the type of surgery and the way in which the anesthetic was delivered to the person undergoing surgery did not affect the risk for hair loss.
General anesthesia may also cause positional alopecia, since the result is the head staying in one position for a long time.
The specific type of anesthesia used may also contribute to hair loss. Hypotensive anesthesia, which is primarily used in maxillofacial surgeries, may increase the risk of positional alopecia. Hypotensive anesthesia lowers a person’s blood pressure during surgery.
Medication side effects
Certain medications taken post-surgery may lead to hair loss, especially if you’re allergic to them. The American Skin Association advises that you speak with your doctor if you take any of the following drugs linked to TE:
Type of surgery
It’s important to consider the site of your surgery. While all surgeries have the potential to cause TE and hair loss, you may be at an increased risk of hair follicles shutting down if your incisions are made on your scalp. As previously mentioned, physical stress on the body may affect the hair growth cycle in that area.
While hair loss after surgery isn’t entirely preventable, you may be able to help minimize the effects of TE. This includes:
- eating a nutritious diet full of plant-based foods
- regular exercise
- better sleep
- stress management
Make sure you don’t have any nutritional deficiencies
Nutritional deficiencies may play a role in hair loss — with or without surgery.
Several micronutrients and chemicals have been identified by researchers as possibly supporting healthy hair follicles and, subsequently, typical hair growth cycles:
- iron
- selenium
- zinc
- antioxidants, including vitamins A, C, and E
- B vitamins
- vitamin D
Ensure you’re getting enough protein and iron
According to the American Academy of Dermatology Association, adequate protein and iron intake has also been linked to healthy hair growth.
You may be able to help minimize hair loss by eating foods rich in these nutrients, but it’s unclear whether you can prevent surgery-related hair loss with any particular diet.
A blood test can determine whether you’re deficient in any of the above nutrients, and your doctor may recommend certain foods or supplements based on the results.
However, you shouldn’t take supplements on your own without any established nutritional deficiency. Doing so may increase your risk for worsening hair loss from vitamin toxicity.
Speak with your doctor about hair loss concerns before surgery
It’s also important to discuss the possibility of surgery-related hair loss with your doctor or anesthesiologist before your operation.
If you expect a long surgery or an intensive care treatment, you may ask about the medical team’s plan for head turning schedules to help prevent positional alopecia.
Your doctor can help assess other risk factors for hair loss, and potentially offer an action plan to help minimize it. This may involve the preventive strategies listed above, as well as potential post-surgery treatments. You anesthesiologist may be able to select an anesthesia plan with lower risk for hair loss.
While it may be concerning to see thinning hair or increased hair loss after your surgery, there are steps you can discuss with your doctor to help treat it.
A dermatologist, a doctor who treats issues of the skin, hair and nails, can determine whether a home or professional treatment is best, but either option can take several months to take full effect.
At-home treatments
At-home treatments may include:
- minoxidil (Rogaine) topical treatment applied to your scalp once or twice daily
- microneedling devices, which stimulate hair follicles via fine needles
- laser caps or combs applied to your scalp up to three times per week
Medical treatments
Depending on the severity of hair loss, a dermatologist may recommend one of the following professional treatments:
- corticosteroid injections
- laser therapy
- platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections, with or without microneedling
- prescription medications for hair loss, including spironolactone for females and finasteride for males
The chances of experiencing hair loss after surgery isn’t well-established, but it’s possible that this major stressor can interfere with healthy hair follicle cycles and lead to temporary hair loss.
Other risk factors for hair loss include:
- the type of surgery you have
- your overall health
- your lifestyle
In most cases, hair loss after surgery will reverse itself over several months’ time.
If you do lose hair post-surgery, talk with a dermatologist about potential treatments and possible ways you can regulate your hair growth cycle once again.