Category: Post-Operative

I had my first transplant recently and the washing of my scabs did not go as smoothly as planned. In other words on day 6 or 7 my scabs were such that they felt soft enough to gently scrap, which I did. The stress for me was that many, many hairs accompanied those scabs for which made me think, did I lose the entire transplanted graft? Some scabs had a fatty white tissue attached. Am I okay? A tech stated not to worry as the hairs are their permanently after the first couple of days, is that true? I was very gentle during the washing process but am concerned that I may have lost the entire graft?

Generally, when the scabs are off, there is no risk of graft loss. When there are scabs present, you can pull out the grafts if you are rough with it, but at a week, it would be unlikely. Most people see scabs and hair and something that looks like a graft to the untrained eye, but it is generally not grafts at a week. For more info, please see:

• Losing Grafts 1 Week Post Surgery?
• Washing Scabs One Week After Surgery
• When Are My New Grafts Secure?
• 16 Days Post-Procedure, I Still Have Scabs

a month ago i went thru hair transplant and had my healthy hair fall out. i went to my doctor and he said he has never seen that before. is this normal and does the hair regrow. also do most of the transplanted hair grow?? if they don’t, what would be the reasons

If you are a young man and had hair loss following a transplant and have not been treated with Propecia, then the hair loss probably will be permanent. I don’t understand why your doctor has not seen it before. Does he do many hair transplants?

When a hair transplant is done properly by an experienced hair transplant team, over 90% of the grafts should grow.

Dear Dr Rassman,

I am interested in you doing a FUE. I have one strip excision before and unfortunately was left with a rare but very unpleasant side effect, namely neuropathy, or “hair pain”. for instance, for more than a year it was painful when I ran my hand through my hair (not just the transplanted hair) or when my hair blew in the wind. I eventually was treated with Neurontin/Gabapentin and Amitriptiline to kind of calm the butchered nerves down. (I have since stopped and things seem ok). Obviously this was as a result of the strip excision. I didnt mind the scalp numbness much, and that was expected anyway, but the hair pain was not something I want to experience again. I was told though that it probably wouldnt happen a second time. I dont necessarily want to risk it. Which is why I am considering FUE, so as to avoid the strip excision. Am I right in assuming no nerve damage ? However I was told that FUE involves a tremendoues increase in the total length of incisions when compared to conventional strip harvesting ?? In terms of the cosmetic results in the donor area I was pretty happy from the first operation, although some of the hair seemed more fuzzy for some reason. This operation was performed 3 years ago and I think it was like 500 grafts. Oh, and also started with dandruff for the first time in my life a few months after the surgery. I dont know if it was a result of the nerve damage or maybe because of taking the medication, but its too coincidental to not be related in any way. (I have been off the medication for about 2 years now but the dandruff has not gone away. but its very much under control provided I use an anti-dandruff shampoo).

Hair pain is rather unusual and I don’t believe that I have ever seen it. Damage to small cutaneous nerves are possible whenever the back of the head is cut into, even with FUE. If the hair pain is all over your scalp and not just on one side, then I am stumped.

It would be best for me to speak with you, better still to meet you. At the least, a phone conversation with good pictures emailed beforehand to go by would be helpful. You can call my office at 800-NEW-HAIR to setup a time for us to speak, or email me at the address on the Contact page (please reference this blog post either way).

I had a hair transplant about a 2 years ago, mostly around my temperal area and a minimal amount in the very front of my hairline.

I have a question about scarring. My donor scar is fine and doesn’t bother me, but where each hair was transplanted the skin is raised just slightly so it’s like i have very tiny little bumps all over my temples and the front of my hairline. They are tiny enough that i assume most people never notice, but if I look in bright lighting I feel that it’s very obvious, at least to me.

I figured they would become less raised over time, but they are still there. I have become self conscious about being under bright overhead lights and even about being outside when the sun is bright without a hat. It’s really messing with my head, no pun intended. But seriously, it’s taking quite a toll on my self esteem.

Is there anything I can do that would just smooth the little tiny bumps, like laser therapy? or would that just make things worse and remove hair?

Any advice would be very greatly appreciated.

This problem was common in the old days, when doctors placed larger grafts in the transplant area. Your doctor may have left too much skin on the graft surface and had them elevated at the time of the transplant surgery.

Lasers to the skin might kill off the hair. Dermabrasion will probably discolor the skin in the area that it is abraded. I have seen many examples of people who had scalp skin abrasion. I would think that careful ‘shaving’ of the bump would reduce or eliminate the bumps, but this would have to be done by an expert in the field and it would be a tedious procedure under local anesthesia. You would likely have to have your head hair brought down to skin level (shaved close) to get the bumps addressed.