No hair re-growth after operation

Question
Hello,

My own veterinary surgeon is himself stumped. Fourteen weeks after a hip operation, my labrador/Newfie-cross bitch, with an otherwise beautiful, black, short-haired coat, has re-grown only 1/16" (max) of hair on the site. (My beard grows more in eight hours!) There is also a quite evident--but not terribly severe (rather dandruffy)--flaking of skin on her hide in the bare area. She's a sight!!!

And yet that all of that is not entirely true. The cause of some awe, she having been shaved for the operation: down near to her dew-claw,  4" down the tail, and everywhere within 6-8" of the incision, the hair on her lower leg has grown back quite well, to 3/4," and as if by some urge of nature, the area for some 1-1/2" immediately around the full length of the incision has also grown back (to a length of about 5/8"). Other than that, there remains an area of virtually totally bare skin amounting, probably, to perhaps 1-1/2 sq.ft. if not slightly more.

I'm wondering if she has some sort of vitamin deficiency.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Dan

Answer
Sometimes there is slow hair growth around surgical wounds.  It will eventually grow back.  Sometimes you can use MELATONIN 3 mg tablets for about 2 months to start the hair follicles growing again.  If that doesn't work, ask the vet to run a thyroid hormone profile.  Low thyroid will cause hairs to fall out or not to regrow.