Scalp biopsy...

[luke77]

Hey guys,
Does anyone know what a scalp biopsy will tell? I saw a derm today and she performed one on me. My hair loss is odd, is very diffuse with not much recession, which is why she did the biopsy. She commented to a resident that was with her that my scalp showed signs of something-or-other, but I didn't catch the phrase she used and didn't think to ask her what she would be looking for in the scalp biopsy. Does anyone know what a derm looks for in a scalp biopsy?

Thanks,
Luke

 

[jumpedthegun]

i can't answer your questions, but let us know the results.

 

[jeffsss]

dunno. usually blood work is performed i thought.?

anyway.. did she actually surgically remove a hair.. or just pluck one out?

 

[Thinning]

They yank a hunk of skin out, not just hair.

 

[Weepy]

Hey guys,
Does anyone know what a scalp biopsy will tell? I saw a derm today and she performed one on me. My hair loss is odd, is very diffuse with not much recession, which is why she did the biopsy. She commented to a resident that was with her that my scalp showed signs of something-or-other, but I didn't catch the phrase she used and didn't think to ask her what she would be looking for in the scalp biopsy. Does anyone know what a derm looks for in a scalp biopsy?

Thanks,
Luke

Call her. Get clarification on what she thinks it is.

 

[luke77]

Yeah, she didn't just pull the hair out, she injected my scalp to numb it and then took a scalpel or something and actually cut out a tiny square. It wasn't painful at the time because of the numbing medication but it kind of aches a bit now. I have a follow-up, presumably to discuss the results, in like 2 weeks. I would call her but she works at a major research hospital and it would probably take me an hour to get through to her since there is no direct number (that I have). I'll let you guys know what happens.

 

[allopeciajimmy]

Hair loss can be caused by reasons other than male pattern baldness. Many inflamatory and Autoimmune disease also present w/ Hairloss. Lot of the are quite serious but some maybe farily benign. Examples include Systemic Lupus and some types of vasculitis. So its a good thing she did a biopsy to double check. They will look at the follicle and the associated layers of the dermis for signs of inflamation or even fibrosis. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[sammy]

Hi all,

Does any one know where i can get this done in australia, canberra is even better?

cheers all.

 

[allopeciajimmy]

You get get a biopsy done anywhere. Your family doctor or dermatologist can take a small snippet of skin from your scalp and send it to a pathologist. Although unless your doctor sees a reason to do a biopsy its not worth it. The diseases i referred to above are systemic so you will see plenty of other symptoms and signs.