Category: Post-Operative

Is there any research that shows that blood flow to the grafts could be compromised or growth delayed with multiple procedures as compared to the first procedure? Is it possible that multiple procedures can outstrip the blood supply necessary to insure maximum growth and thus limit graft survival?

Does every patient with multiple procedures always see a stubble of erupting hair coming in between their hairs after 3-6 mos.?

The reason I ask is that I don’t recall seeing any stubble on my 2nd procedure and am concerned as whether I will see any for my 3rd. It was easy to see on my first procedure.

The blood supply on the third procedure should be as good as the first procedure.

The presence of any immediate stubble reflects retention of the hair shafts after a hair transplant, not growth. Growth should come in at about 4-5 months and the stubble that you detected after the first hair transplant, if it did not fall out by the time the hair grew, will be forced out by the growing hair. I don’t know anything about your procedures, but it’s possible that it was easy to see growth after the first transplant simply because you had less hair in the area.

Hello,

I recently received a transplant of 2500 graphs. The day after the transplant I had sex and was wondering if the increase in blood pressure to the head may have dislodged any of my graphs.

There was no unusual bleeding nor was my transplant area touched.

As with all your first time hair transplantation-ees, I am concerned that I may have adversely impacted the recover process.

Comments?

I doubt that any problems were produced. I generally tell my patients if they must undergo sex right after a hair transplant, try to be a bit more passive in the process. Full active sex is safe after about 3 days.

Can I use hair removal if I decide my transplants just aren’t looking right? I am just trying to figure out what my options are to undo the surgery.

I met with a patient a couple years ago who had frontal hair transplants at a clinic with results that did not meet his expectations. He responded by going through electrolysis and removing the grafts. He came to my office to figure out what to do with the linear scar.

The results of the tedious electrolysis was very good, but in our experience, electrolysis is very dependent upon the skill of the person doing it. The means the results from this process can vary considerably. The use of hair removal lasers also can be a problem particularly if the grafts are large since they leave an abnormal “foot print” in the skin once the hair is gone.

I am 1 month post-op on my 3rd transplant. Just curious why I can’t see the tiny holes where the grafts were placed as compared to the first transplant. I recall this from my 2nd also. The scabs have healed. I look for the incisions but can’t see them. Is it because existing hairs make it hard to see or because the incisions have healed and the grafts are beneath the skin?

I can only guess. Maybe the surgeon used a smaller instrument making smaller holes, or maybe the holes are not there because there were no hairs transplanted on the area you are looking at. Could the holes have healed so that you can’t see them? That will depend on how long it has been since your surgery.

You should at least see some scabs, unless they were there and it have fallen out. It usually takes one to two weeks for scabs to heal and fall out. Then it takes another few weeks for the hairs to fall out, unless the transplanted hairs were shaved. The main point here is that I have no way to know for sure via email, and it is all a guessing game. The best person to ask is your surgeon.

Hi Dr Rassman

I was just wondering if you could explain why grafts enter a dormant phase immediately after being transplanted, and only start recovering after 8-10 months?

I’d also be interested to know why they initially grow back much finer, and then thicken up later. Essentially the follicle itself hasn’t changed, so why does the hair diameter it produces fluctuate in this way?

Many thanks

I do not know why there is a dormant phase after a hair transplant. To put it simply, when you have hair transplant surgery, your follicle was removed from your body, handled, cut, manipulated, put in solutions, manipulated some more, and put back into another new location on your body. If I was that follicle and I survived all of that, I’d be traumatized and go dormant for awhile. In all seriousness though, I do not have a professorial explanation.

The simple fact is that most follicles go dormant (telogen) and start to regrow in a period of 3 to 12 months. Most patients see results starting on the 6th month to 12th month. Some lucky minority of patients (< 5%) see results within a month! This is what we have observed over the last 20 years in thousands of patients.