Category: Post-Operative

Posted on

Hair Growth After Transplant – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

It’s been just over 8 weeks since you performed my 3000+ grafts hair transplant. I’m noticing some of the little guys are still falling out. There are no scabs, only small hairs that continue to tumble to their death into my bathroom sink. Am I not being aggresive enough when I shampoo, or do each of these little guys tumble to the ground on their own schedule?

I noticed a few grafts growing immediately from day 1, and these guys are actually pretty long already! Others, though, fell out early and are now pushing their way toward the light. I imagine the ones still shedding will subsequently start their growth later, and that’s probably why the 8-month total wait, huh?

Just wondering.

You are on schedule for your hairs to be doing what they are doing. It is not unusual to lose grafted hair as the old transplanted hairs shed. Sometimes the stubble of the transplanted hairs stay around for a few months, then they sooner or later fall out to their “death” (not really an appropriate statement, as they have been dead since a week after the transplant). The hairs from the transplant that did not grow immediately and fell out, do not reflect the hair growth center cells which are alive and getting prepared to start their anagen cycle. FYI, at the end of the cycle, a hair “bud” situated at the base of the “rest” root (phase 2) develops and will push out the hair in the involution to become a new hair as it ‘grows up’.

At this stage of your recovery, I would not worry much about aggressive shampooing, just do what you generally do and that should be fine. You must wait out the 8 month period to see 80-90% of your growth.

Balding Forum - Hair Loss Discussion

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):


Posted on

How Long After Transplant Can I Wear a Motorcycle Helmet? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

HelmetI am having a transplant (strip) next week. My husband and I take frequent motorcycle trips and I am wondering when I can safely wear a helmet. They are by necessity tight fitting so they will rub while wearing them and when I put it on and take it off.

The helmet can not rub the donor area or it may cause wound problems. You might want to wait 3 or more weeks for the wound to heal and all staples or sutures to be removed. Check with your surgeon, of course.

Posted on

I Don’t Want My Hair To Recede To Reveal My Transplant Scar – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have had 2 transplants since 2000 and have noticed that I am losing more hair at the back of the head. My concern is that the scars left from the surgery will eventually be exposed if I continue to recede. I would say that they it is 2 to 3 inches away from the first scar. Is there anything I can do to conceal the scar? Is it time for another transplant?

Thanks

Block Quote

As long as the scar is in the mid region of the permanent zone, I don’t think that the scar will be revealed. That is assuming that the scar width is not excessive , though most wide scars can be managed with a corrective procedure. It’s difficult for me to even try to conclude where your recession will end since I haven’t seen photos or met with you, so you may want to get a second opinion and even a third to better determine if your scar will possibly be exposed in the future and what can be done about it.

Posted on

Unsatisfied With Hair Transplant, Should I Use Laser Therapy? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello Dr. Rassman,
I Recently had a Hair transplant that was performed back in July of 05. I started taking Propecia a month before surgery. I must say I am extremely dissapointed in the results of both. I feel as if the head trauma that was endured during the surgery made me lose more hair. When I inquired with the doctor he said the hairs that fell out will regrow. My hair gets thinner by the day and I dont see Propecia working from keeping the hairs I already have. My question is, there is a laser therapy used for a skin disease that also helps alopecia patients regrow full heads of hair. Is this a something I should test out? It is not covered by insurance because it would be considered cosmetic. And in the mean time, I have heard of taking daily doses of copper peptides and emu oil help the follicle and assist in regrowth of dormat hairs. Is this another route I should take? Thank you so much for your time doctor.

Block Quote

First I would want to know if your expectations were set correctly. You say you are disappointed, so I ask why?

There is a suggestion in your question that your hair is continuing to appear thinner. Did you experience shock hair loss (rare with a person on Propecia, but more common in young men under 30). I do not know your age and I have no idea where was your starting point and where you are now. I would suggest that you go back to your doctor. Your doctor is vested in making you happy and making sure that what he represented to you was what you got. Your best starting point is a face to face meeting with the doctor who did your surgery. I personally love talking to my patients and although few are dissatisfied, I always feel ownership. I make unusual efforts to be sure that expectations are properly fixed to what the end product will be like and that is the main value of open house events for people like you, to avoid being disappointed, because what you see is what you are going to get. I do not think that playing around with things like lasers or other regrowth formulations have value for you now, that is, until you know what happened and why the surgery failed to meet your needs.

Posted on

Black Scabs Months After Hair Transplant – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

2 very important questions:

It’s been 6 months after my hair transplant and I have seen good results but I am still looking for further improvement in my hair as expected. Will there be more improvement coming in the next 2 or 3 months or I have already got my results and there won’t be any further new hair growth?

Another question is that I just noticed that I still have black scabs with a hair growing on the top of it and it just fell in my hand with the scab and the hair stuck to each other. These scabs where in hundreds after the hair transplant which is normal. But is this normal after 5 months of hair transplant?

thanks

By the 8th month, you will have >80% of hair growth. By 1 year, you will have >95% hair growth. If there were hairs in the scabs, I do not understand it — they should not be there. Maybe you are not really telling me what you see properly, for anything that lasts after 5 months may reflect the old grafts that did not shed. Perhaps you may have further hair shedding in preparation for further hair growth? Try washing it more vigorously and see if that makes the scabs fall off. You might consider sending me good digital pictures to the address on the contact page.

Posted on

Haircut After Strip Procedure – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Scarring from a strip procedure is a big concern of mine. What method do you use to close the donor area, and how noticeable would this scar be? For example, would my barber notice it while cutting my hair if he cut it to 1/2 inch length?

The person above is talking about removing a stip of skin for donor area harvesting, the common standard surgery for today’s hair transplant. Only about 5% of the population will have a scar wider than 2-3 mm on a single surgery. With a deep fascial closure and trichophytic incisions (see Techniques to Minimize Donor Area Scarring ) these numbers should show a smaller incidence. Even with a 2-3 mm scar, you should easily be able to cut your hair to 3/8th of an inch without being observable.

Posted on

Hair Loss Around Donor Scar After Hair Transplant – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Dr. Droctor,
I am 3 weeks out of a hair transplant and just experienced a telogen effluvium episode(shock loss) on the area surounding the scar on one side of my head. The affected area is about 2-3 square inches. Have you ever heard of such post traumatic patchy hairloss? is this common? and is all the hair automatically back after a while? same thickness?
For this particular case, would you suggest a treatment?

Thanks in advance for your answer… I’m a little bit worry.

You should ask your doctor first. Hair loss after a transplant in balding men in the recipient area is often not reversible, but if it happens in the donor area it will frequently return in 2-5 months. Good before and after pictures will help make the assessment for the recipient area. If you are young man (under 35), then you should have been on Propecia which does protect against the hair loss induced from surgery in the recipient area.

I am assuming that what you are talking about is hair loss around the donor wound. When this occurs, it is often the result of wound tightness with the surgical closure, but it can happen to almost anyone. You must wait out a period of between 2-7 months before you will know. Returning hair growth may occur over a long period of time.

Posted on

Hair Loss Information » Color of Donor Scar 2 Weeks After Procedure? – Balding Blog

I am 2 weeks post-op a 2400 FUT.The surgery was performed by a very reputable Dr. and so far I am very pleased with the results.The recipient area has healed well but I still have a very pronounced dark pink line at the donor site from ear to ear.The scar itself seems only about 1 or 2mm wide but the dark pink line is about 4 or 5mm wide and very noticeable.I went back to the clinic and the Dr. told me I wasn’t being aggressive enough with washing the donor area and advised me to use olive oil to soften the area and lift off the secretion.Is the secretion causing the wide pink line and when can I expect this to look less noticeable?

After two weeks, what you are describing is not abnormal. Some people keep a red/pink color to the surrounding wound. This will become better over the next few weeks. Sounds like you doctor is giving you reasonable advice.

Posted on

I Was Told To Put Vaseline on My Transplanted Grafts – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

VaselineI am a 33 year old female and just had a hair transplant 3 days ago. I was told that I had to put vaseline on the grafts and on the donor site twice a day for about a week. This keeps my whole head really greasy and I can’t go out without a bandana or hat on. I washed my hair with shampoo (very lighly where the grafts are) but it seems that it doesn’t get clean. Is this really necessary? How can I get the vaseline off my hair? If I could have clean hair, I would be able to go out and it would “hide” my transplant but I feel like the vaseline just plasters my hair to my scalp and the “wet” look really makes the transplant stand out. What would you recommend?

I never use or recommend Vasoline, because it is difficult to manage and remove. The general purpose of the Vasoline is to keep the grafts moist to prevent crusting, but I generally believe that it is best to take off the crusts by a good washing technique before they form and get fixed in place. It is impossible for me to get to you in a timely manner and it would be inappropriate for me to give you advice on a piece-meal basis without a doctor/patient relationship established and the internet is not the place for this activity. As you have a doctor, best to follow his recommended course. You might ask him why he does what he does so that you can understand his/her thought process.

Posted on

Hair Loss InformationAny Special Creams I Can Apply to Scar Right After Surgery? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello,I have just had my third hair transplant.The one befor this last one was about ten years ago.The doctor removed the old scar and alot of scar tissue,and he stitched me inside and out and closed the cut pretty nice from what I can see.I still have the stitches in and wont have them removed for another week and I was wondering if there any kind of cream or gel I can apply now or after the stitches come out to reduce the appearence of the scar.I am in the army and I am being deployed to Iraq so I have to shave my head and would like not to see a big scar on the back of my head. Thank you for any advice you can give me.

Block Quote

Everything takes time. There is no way to accelerate the healing process you are going through. If after the stitches come out you are still red, then you can apply some 0.5% hydrocortisone cream every 12 hours, but only apply it three or four times and then wait 5 days to see if it resolved. You can then repeat the process again, waiting another 5 days in between each treatment cycle. Do not continue this for more than a month.