Category: Post-Operative

I have just had a hair transplant on Tuesday 1st July, so only 2 days ago. I am itching where my grafts are placed and i know it takes about 7 days before i can touch them incase they come out. it is driving me mad, with this itching, is there anything i can put on or you can recommend please. Thanks

While I am flattered you’d turn to me for advice, I am also shocked how there seems to be no relationship between a patient (you) and his doctor. This is a perfect question for the doctor that performed your surgery!

In general, you can touch your head or lightly tap on it to alleviate the itching. Please follow up with your doctor. There may be other issues (aside from general itching) that may be causing your problem. I really don’t know, as I was not your surgeon.

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I had a hair transplant of 1200 grafts about 6 to 7 months ago and I am not really noticing any hair growing in yet other than what i already have is this normal? and does it take longer to grow in for some people than others? I am currently taking Propecia with Minoxidil and the EXT Extreme Hair Therapy From Hair Club.

A hair transplant can take as long as a year to completely grow. It is not unusual to observe growth at 6-8 months. I usually tell patients that by the 8th month, 80-90% of the new hair is usually 1+ inch in length and you should see the value by that time. In 1 out of about 20 patients, the hair grows immediately without going through the sleep phase that delays the growth normally. Different parts of the scalp may produce hair at different growth rates initially (e.g the crown may grow faster than the front or visa versa). If you have specific issues or concerns regarding your particular transplant, I would follow up with your doctor who performed your surgery.

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Dr. Rassman, I had a hair transplant the first part of october 07 the front has filled out nicely but the top/crown is comming in at half the speed as the front, any ideas? I’m a 57 year old male. Also I would like a bit of your military service bio, I was wounded in 1969 and spent time at the 93 and 24 evac hospitals recouping.

By 8 months, you should have growth in the crown. How much work did you get in the crown? Many times the crown just takes more grafts to get the fullness you need.

Regarding my military service — I was a surgeon at the 24th Evac Hospital in 1970 so you were there before I got there. I hope you did well in your recovery process.

hi. i had a hair transplant 5 months ago, using the strip technique, only 1000 grafts due to receding at the temples and slight beginnings of an island forming, nothing too bad tho. i take proscar 1 mg per day. ive noticed lately that i keep on getting bumps and the odd pimple on my scalp. im not talking about the usual acne you get in the transplanted area as the new hairs are forcing their way through, thats been and gone. i mean bumps on my crown, at the side just above the ears, and at the back..whats going on!!!? its only maybe one or 2 a day, but i never had this before. could it be that the proscar is causing regrowth of new hairs in different parts of my hair…or is this just wishful thinking? could it be a bad thing and that follicles are dying?

any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks!

You should be asking these questions to the doctor who performed your surgery. Without examining you, I can only guess. In general, one can develop folliculitis after a few months from the surgery as the new hairs grow. Or there can be an infection (though rare) which can cause bumps. Or there can be foreign particles (also rare) that may be causing such reaction. Or you may have some other non hair transplant scalp issues. Get the point? I am not trying to brush you off on your issues, but it seems you have a specific concern that needs to be addressed with your doctor one on one.

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Dr. Rassman,

In the past, you have stated that post-op redness in the recipient area will linger longer in individuals that are histamine positive. I have very fair skin, and I am histamine positive based on the scratch test. Currently, I am 5 months out from surgery, which consisted of dense packing 3000 grafts in the front third of my scalp.

What do you recommend to speed up the process in order to eliminate the lingering pinkness that I am still experiencing? I have also put a call into my surgeon for his opinion, but would definitely like to have your opinion as well.

Thanks in advance!

The use of limited amounts of hydrocortisone cream may help, but long term use is not healthy. I am hesitant to make specific recommendations to you as I have not seen you and therefore cannot make a judgment for you. My general approach is to point a direction on what to do, but hopefully you will get to your doctor for specific advice appropriate for your needs.

Hello,

I’m in my mid-40s. I’ve had 5 hair transplant procedures since 1996, the most recent 8 months ago. All of them were to fill in bald spots in the front hairline, mid section and the temples. After my last procedure I notice that I lost quite a lot of hair right around where the new grafts went in. Now I realize that sometimes surrounding hair follicles go into shock after a transplant. But a lot of the hairs I lost, not all, were transplanted hairs from previous transplants. That raises the question, how “permanent” are transplanted hairs? Would these grow back? It has been over 8 months already since the procedure.

The other question I have, I noticed in my last 2 procedures that not all of the grafts “took”, especially from the last one. I had received 300 grafts in the front hairline, and only about 75-100 actually grew hairs (yes I was counting them!) Is that acceptable? To me of course it s not. Could it be because the area has been worked on before?

Thank you very much for your informative site.

I do not know what may be going on with you and your hair transplants. I would discuss these issues with your doctor who performed your surgery. Generally, hair transplants are permanent and if they came out (from a previous procedure) they should return. I have seen this about 6 times out of the thousands of hair transplants we have done at NHI, and each and every time a man has lost a previous transplant, it came back at about the same time as the newly transplanted hair. In rare instances, hair on the back of the scalp may not be permanent if you have conditions such as alopecia areata or just getting older, or if the hairs were harvested close to the neck line (the neck hairs may not be permanent).

Again, I would discuss your issues with your doctor who will be better equipped to know what is going on in your specific case.

hello. I think this is a very common question that you get asked but i would still go ahead ask this.

I’m 6 days post HT. I have scabs all over my head now and generally when i’m studying, I tend to pick them (i do not get aggressive with them). What In usually do is push them in a circular motion and see if they come off. If they dont then I leave them alone. I saw only one where it bled and had some soft white tissue attached to it. The others were just hard crusty scabs with small hair in them sometimes.

My question is that have I killed all my grafts now? To my understanding as long as they havent bled and no soft tissue came out then they are pretty secured. Also in 6 days they are pretty tightly held up in scalp….is that true? Please help

Our hair pull study (see Dislodging a Graft After Hair Transplant) shows that if you pull on a scab for up to 10 days after a transplant, you can pull out the grafts. What else can I say? What you are doing is just not good for you, and you’re running real risks here to losing what you must have paid dearly for. There are proper washing techniques that will have the scabbing off within the first few days and are safe on the grafts. Your doctor should’ve discussed these with you.

I received a hair transplant about 5 months ago on a norwood 3/4 scalp. I have been told that I should begin looking for regrowth between now and the 5 to 8 month mark, so I realize I am just at that point. My question is, given that I use minoxidil and wear a hat for any prolonged sun exposure, could very light sun exposure on a hatless head, like 5 or 10 minutes total a day, have damaged the transplanted follicles? Thanks for the help.

No, I highly doubt 5 to 10 minutes of sun exposure will damage the transplanted follicles. The UV rays from the sun can however discolor your scalp wounds immediately after a hair transplant. It wouldn’t have much effect on the follicles. I would follow up with your doctor.