http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3558912

Did you catch the part about 2 patients not losing any of their grafts? That's with old crappy HT's and old crappy minox (that study is very old)

Why WOULDN'T you start minox immediately then if it means that potentially you could keep all your grafts in tact?

The answer is as follows:

It is not advised to use minoxidil on the transplanted areas immediately after surgery until the incisions have been allowed to heal. Most surgeons prefer to start the use of topical minoxidil at least a week or so after the hair transplant surgery. This allows time for the epithelium to heal and minimizes the potential for theoretical damage to the transplanted grafts from propylene glycol based minoxidil. However, the use of special glycerin based minoxidil solutions can take care this potential problem and can help to get a better growth after the surgery.

that from http://www.hairrestorationadvice.com/surgical-hair-rest...ir-restoration.shtml


SO.....

If you use a minox that is non propylene glycol based, it might be wise to start it sooner than you are recommended. I think I'm going to start after 7 days as a compromise.

I started using Minoxidil 2 weeks after the surgery, and at 7 weeks, I have hairs that are 1\8" to 1\4" in length.

what brand did you use and what percent of your grafts fell out?

Asterisk,

Some physicians believe that using minoxidil immediately after surgery and for the first few months believe that it might help jump start early hair growth of the transplanted follicles. I have not really seen any compelling evidence of this especially since some who have used minoxidil for the first few months had delayed growth while others who did not use minoxidil had early growth.

Whether or not it can help prevent the transplanted hair from shedding, well, I haven't heard many cases of this even though many patients have used minoxidil after a hair transplant

That said, I'm sure it can't help to try it to see what happens.

Best wishes,

Bill

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To learn about how I restored my hair, view my my hair loss website.

Remember, true beauty radiates from within, not from the skin.

I am not a medical professional and my words should not be taken as medical advice. All opinions and views shared are my own.

well I'm always up for a challenge....I'll let everyone here know what happens!

One thing you have to keep in mind is that minoxidil (Rogaine) is probably the strongest blood pressure drug in the world. If put on too soon, while all these fresh open sites are present on the scalp, the potential for the drug on the skin being absorbed into the system and dropping the blood pressure is a real risk. A person who is older or who has low blood pressure to start with would be at risk for fainting or passing out. For that reason, I wait till around the 4th day to restart it.
The other reason I wait those few days is that the physical act of applying the drug might disrupt some of the grafts' physical positioning in their sites.
We don't fully understand all the ways minixidil works to help hair growth (and prevent hair loss), but it is considered a "growth factor" for hair, and I do use it for 3-4 weeks before and after surgery in situations in which I am more concerned about the outcome of the surgery or worried about shock loss (such as in my female patients). If a person has had a lot of past scalp surgery - scalp reductions and multiple HT's - I will start if a month before surgery and then re-start it on the 4th post op day and have the patient take it another month. The evidence that this helps is so far anecdotal and not based on a good scientific study that I know of.
Mike Beehner, M.D.

I would wait months before I would start the Foam. Let nature take its course and build a srong foundation. If you speed things up too early, I feel you weaken the base.

Very interesting Dr. Beehner that you recommend staring on the 4th day after surgery! My doc recommends waiting 2 weeks, and I've read that some doctors recommend 1 week and others 4 weeks.

I'm going to be using nanominox from sinere.com which from my research seems to be the best minoxidil currently available. I was thinking of starting around the 6th or 7th day but I can't decide. Thanks for your input!

I have never used minoxidil. However,not to confuse the issue, I started using Propecia right after my hair transplant. I don't know if there is any connection, but I was surprised that most of my graphs DID NOT fall out, which I had been led to believe would be the case. In fact they seemed to take root right before my eyes! I also had virtually no detectable loss of existing hair from the shock of the surgery. In fact, the left side of my forehead looked pretty good within two short months. For me Propecia seems to have worked better than advertised and today I have shoulder length hair with very little shedding, which I had prior to my surgery and the use of Propecia. A woman commented to me recently that my hair was "prettier" than hers. Yikes! I know that Propecia is not supposed to impact the front of your hair and it probably is not supposed to impact your graphs. However, my unscientific experience seemed to indicate less shedding and faster growth of existing and transplanted hair immediately following the use of Porpecia. I monitored the growth of my graphs daily, like most people. The only problem I had was a lot redness in the transplant area that lasted longer than the surgeon thought was normal. I would be interested to know if others thought Propecia might have helped their graphs.

Ahhh, you're only talking about four months or so before the new hairs start to grow anyway. That's not all that long.

And, I think Blowdry might have a good point. Why not just let 'nature' take its course on your transplanted hairs...(is that sentence an oxymoron?).

__________________
100? 'mini' grapfts by Latham's Hair Clinic - 1991 (Removed 50 plugs by Cooley 3/08.)
2750 FU 3/20/08 by Dr. Cooley

My Hair Loss Website - Hair Transplant with Dr. Cooley

Current regimen:
1.66 mg Proscar M-W-F
Rogaine 5% Foam - every now and then
AndroGel - once daily
Lipitor - 5 mg every other day
Weightlifting - 2x per week
Jogging - 3x per week