Category: Post-Operative

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Trapped Nerve After a Hair Transplant? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Your blog is incredibly insightful and useful, can’t believe its a free resource. I’ve had a strip excision, my question is that there is one area directly above the scar line, about 3 cms wide and maybe 3 cms high (where scar is probably about 20 cms long) that feels raised and different. if I run my finger from below the scarline in that area up and over you can feel how that area becomes distinctly raised even sometime after transplant. the other areas above the scar dont have that feeling. could it be a trapped nerve ? and how easy is it to treat ? my doctor (even though giving good cosmetic hair results) doesn’t have your diagnostic capabilities. thank you !

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First, with regard to the free service, I have never turned down money offers or checks in the mail. I haven’t received any, but still… :)

You raise a series of questions that pose different problems. Some people heal with elevated scars that are like mini-keloids (heaped up scar tissue on the skin edge). These scars can be difficult to control and the wider they are, the more difficult they are to treat. Steroids injected into the scar helps on those that are fresh (under 6 months old). When you don’t have feeling about the scar, if it is just the area within an inch of the scar, it may be attributable to cut nerves, which occur in everyone who has had a strip. The feeling usually returns in weeks of months after the surgery. If the area is more extensive, like a hand’s width, then you may have a cut major nerve trunk. The nerve may be cut or just squeezed in the scar tissue. You will need a skilled surgeon to make the diagnosis.

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Hair Loss InformationFUE Aftercare Question Because My Doctor Is Unavailable – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hey Dr. Rassman, I have a question regarding a recent curiosity about FUE post op care. Would it damage the grafts if i buzzed my head down to a 2 in about a month from now? I had a 3500 FUE procedure for zones 1 and 2 in Canada about a month ago. I just want to be sure and have been trying to contact my doctor but he is currently unavailable. If you could answer this question that would be great!

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Shaving the head or clipping it after FUE procedure is OK after a month.

Considering that you must have paid a pretty penny for 3,500 FUE grafts, I am distressed that your doctor can not be reached by you. I would like it if you take good photographs of your head now and then more photos again in 8 months. I have been seeing a number of patients with FUE grafts in the 3000+ range that have had very poor results in terms of growth. So don’t forget to keep me in the loop — if for any reason you don’t get good growth, I might be able to help you.

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Hair Loss InformationI Had a Transplant a Month Ago and Feel New Hairs Sprouting Up – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Dr. I had hair transplant back in November 3, 2008. When I gently place my hand on the transplanted area I can feel the “bed of thorns” or “sprouting new hairs”. My concern is are they really new hairs or is it the grafted hair waiting to fall out. I have been taking finasteride religiously for more than two years and still continue to be on it. Does this suggest that grafted hair may not fall out and continue to grow right away, since it is over 45 days from surgery and grafted hairs should have fallen out by now. Is it compulsory for grafted hairs to fall out, if so, generally how many days from surgery they should fall out.

Thanks

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In about 5% of people who have hair transplants, they will notice immediate growth without a ‘sleep period’ of 2-5 months, which is normally seen. If the hair falls out (95%) of patients, it will occur in the first 3-4 weeks. Propecia should be continued through the entire process without stopping it.

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Hair Loss InformationMy Surgeon Said to Put Rogaine on My Newly Transplanted Grafts for 3 Months – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am 57 and had a hair transplant three weeks ago. I had a full head of hair until I was 40, and then very gradual thinning. The transplant was done to provide more thickness in the front and in the crown. The surgeon who performed the transplant said that in addition to taking finasteride (which I have done for several years), he advised using Rogaine (Regaine outside of the US) for three months on the new grafts.

However, the Rogaine website specifically says that the product should be used on the top of the head only. When I checked with their help line, they said that research had not been completed about success using rogaine at the front of the head. My guess is that this is because the success rate (both to promote new growth or even to arrest hair loss ) in the front of the head has not been good. I am looking for a second opinion and want to know whether it is best to ignore the front and just put it on the crown. If so, I wonder why one would apply six pumps to the area rather than one or two, the recommended dose, regardless of the area being covered.

The Rogaine representatives are clearly pleased that the product is being recommended by tricologists for hair transplant patients in the post operative stage but they will not endorse the use of the product on the front although they believe one should follow the advice of one s doctor. With your knowledge of transplanted follicles, what would you say about it? Many thanks

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I did a study some years ago where I used minoxidil on 1/3d of the transplants and on the other 2/3rds I did not. I maintained the treatment for the entire growth period for the hair transplants (6-8 months) and noted:

  1. That both sides grew in at the exact same rate
  2. That both sides started growing at the exact same time

I never published the study because the doctor who was doing this with me was a bit sloppy in his record keeping and I was not surprised at the outcome. I was able to conclude, however, that minoxidil has no effect on transplanted hair.

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Hurting the Growth Rate of Hair Grafts – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I recently had a hair transplant procedure done a clinic in Las Vegas. I keep worrying that something I do will hurt the growth of my grafts. It’s not an OCD but I’m always thinking about it when something happens.

Recently, my doctor put me on Ibuprofen 400 mg 3 times per day for a week to see if it calms this pain I’ve been having in my Gall Bladder area. This was in case I have some kind of inflammation. I’m having an Ultrasound next week. I’m wondering if we have to surgically remove my gall bladder, will that hurt the growth because of stress on the body? If we don’t find anything with the ultrasound, we might result to antibiotics for a week. Is that something that might hurt the transplant?

You see where I’m going with this? What is the threshold for something hurting the growth rate of the grafts. If they’re in there, are they pretty much in there and going to grow at 90% no matter what? What would one have to do to hurt that growth rate?

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Hair transplants are robust when they grow and very little can be done to damage a grown out hair from a transplant. In a couple weeks, everything is set… so depending on how recent your hair transplant was, I wouldn’t say there’s any cause for concern. Don’t worry, be happy!

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Are Transplanted Hairs as Strong as Natural Growing Hairs? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Are transplanted hairs at least a year after the transplant theoretically more fragile and not as strong as in the root of the hair compared to natural hair that hasn’t been transplant and isn’t miniaturizing. I sometimes itch my transplanted section of my head, sum times rigorously, not too hard but itch it. could i damage the tranplsnted hair by doing this or becuase the hair grows beneath the skin it wont be doing damage because the hair starts to grow from beneath the skin?

Both transplanted hair and the non-balding hair are equally strong. If you had your transplant with small needles rather than large ones, there should not be itching. On occasion small nerves are damaged which may produce itching. This eventually goes away.

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How Long After a Hair Transplant Are the Grafts Safe? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

male, 36yo. I had a hair transplant 15 days ago. I am wondering how I can tell how many or what percentage of the grafts have survived, or if it is even possible to tell that at this point. I am also wondering if there is a certain day like day 10 post op or so that whatever grafts have survived so far will continue to survive? Can transplanted grafts die at month 5 for example that before then have been just fine?

Also, will I experience shedding of the transplanted hairs before I see any growth in 4 months or so? In other words, will things look worse before they look better? Should I be concerned if I see shedding in the grafted area? Does shedding mean the grafts have not survived? I have not yet noticed any shedding as far as I can tell.

thanks.

At 15 days without scabbing, you should be safe with the grafts and they will not come out. If the scabs persist, that is another story which requires careful washing. You really should never look worse unless you experience some degree of shock loss. At your age, to prevent this, you should be on finasteride. At 5 months, the hair should be growing or just starting to grow and the hair loss from the hair within the transplanted grafts will return.

For more, see this paper I co-authored and was published in 2006 –Graft Anchoring in Hair Transplantation (PDF file).

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Possible Nerve Damage in Recipient Area from FUE? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi

I have recently undergone an FUE procedure. I had about 2500 hairs placed in total. One week after the procedure, The grafts have taken really well and the scabs have fallen off. All swelling on my forehead has subsided. There is only slight swelling on the vertex. I still have numbness in the recipient area on the top of my scalp, behind the hairline.

When I run my hand over the new implanted hairs, I feel slight twitching on the skin on the scalp. I am concerned about nerve damage in the recipient area. Is it possible that a nerve was pinched, poked or disturbed in the recipient area ? What is the corrective action to take if this was the case ?

regards

Whenever there is a cut on the skin it may cause numbness or tingling or pain. This should subside after several weeks (sometimes months). This should have been thoroughly explained to you before the surgery in your Pre-Operative Consent form and by your doctor. The follicular unit extraction (FUE) technique still involves a cut on your skin. Cut nerves in the donor area is more of a problem, because there are major nerve trunks there, but your question was about the recipient area.

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Got a Cut on My Scalp a Week After My Hair Transplant – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I had a graft procedure 7 days ago. I hit my head and caused a small cut about the size of a pencil eraser where I had transplants. Will I lose the grafts in the area?

It would be unlikely to lose grafts 1 weeks post surgery, however, if the skin separated that distance and healed on its own, it will develop a scar in the area. I am sure you have seen many men with these small scars in their heads that came from such injuries.

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Hair Transplant and the Flu – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I had a hair transplant a few weeks back and got symptoms of the flu on the 10th day. Is it possible that this will hurt the growth yield of the hair transplant?

TissueThere is no connection between the flu and a hair transplant, either before or after the flu. Many times people will ask if they can go forward with a hair transplant while they have or are recovering from the flu. As a hair transplant is performed under local anesthesia, there is no danger to your health to have a hair transplant with a fresh case of the flu, nor is there any impact on growth from a hair transplant days or weeks after you recover from the flu.

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