My hair has been straight for 55 years. In November 2006 I had minor surgery which required anesthesia. About two weeks later my hair started to wave and eventually really curl. I`m having a VERY difficult time adapting to this change. Did the anesthesia I received cause my hair to curl? If so, is this a permanent effect? Is there anything I can do to reverse it? 

ﾠThanks for your interesting question. I've never heard of anesthesia causing anyone's hair to curl. And a limited search using Google and PubMed has failed to reveal any evidence for this theory. Although you are unhappy with your new hair style, if there were any direct relation between anesthesia and the onset of curly hair this is something I think we could sell! 

I have read that, in very rare cases, straight hair becoming curly can be related to the use of medications, including retinoids, and can even be a symptom of an unsuspected tumor.ﾠ You can check with a dermatologist for more information on this.ﾠ 

Hi, I`m a 49 yr old female in Aug 06 I was in the hospital for 22 days with a bowel resection. Jan 07 I had an upper endoscopy and now my already thin hair is dry and falling out. Now March 07 I`m need to have the test done again and they are doing a colonoscopy at the same time. Is my hair going to fall out even more [the scalp is already showing] and is there anything I can do or the anesthesiologist can do ??? 

Telogen effluvium is the phenomenon of widespread hair loss occuring over a short space of time. This is something that can happen after surgery or after severe metabolic stress. Surgery definitely fits into that category and because major surgery is always done with anesthesia some people will atrribute the hair loss to the anesthesia. There does not seem to be any strong evidence that anesthesia all by itself causes hair loss. A large variety of things are associated with hair loss, including several diseases and hundreds of different drugs. Unfortunately I don't believe there's anything specific that your anesthesiologist will be able to do to limit any further loss of hair. However in most cases of telogen effluvium the hair grows back! 

I`ve recently been experiencing a great deal of hair loss. First, this summer, specific circles of alopecia which seemed stress-related and responded to cortisone injections. Now I`m having more general loss and thinning - handfuls of hair when shampooing and otherwise. I was told this could be related to anesthesia from two foot surgeries (May and August). If so, when should this cease? Should I be concerned about other potential causes? 

One form of hair loss after surgery is related to prolonged pressure over a particular area of the scalp, causing localized loss of hair in just that area. This is called pressure alopecia. It is rather uncommon, but is known to occur occasionally after very long surgical procedures (many hours) where the head is kept in one position. It can also happen in special circumstances, such as heart surgery, where blood flow throughout the body, including the scalp, may be decreased. A different kind of hair loss is caused by various kinds of acute stress, which can lead to generalized hair loss all over the scalp. This form of alopecia is known as telogen effluvium. Causes include acute illness (e.g. severe infection, major surgery and severe trauma), chronic illness (e.g. cancer, liver or kidney disease), hormones (e.g. pregnancy, underactive thyroid), changes in diet, and a large variety of medications. Although some people believe that anesthesia itself can cause hair loss, I could find no evidence linking any of the commonly used anesthesia medications to this problem. In fact, some anesthetic techniques, such as regional anesthesia, are shown to actually decrease the bodyﾒs so-called stress response. However the stress of surgery itself is known to be a factor. And the recovery from surgery may be prolonged and stressful also. Be assured that future anesthetics are unlikely to contribute to your problem but be sure also to consult your physician for appropriate treatment and to rule out other causes of hair loss.ﾠ