Hi every1 !!!

I am kinda worried about several things that we have never talked to.... I am speaking about all cares you must follow before and after your surgery...

I have wrotten a list with some of then, adding more things, please feel free to add or comment anything, they are pretty conservatives in order to maximize the goal, do not mind pain or time, GOAL minds.


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PRE-SURGERY ( procedure and time before surgery )
--------------------------------------------------

- Avoid salicilic acetil acid (aspirina) | 2 weeks

- Avoid cafeina and efedrina | 2 weeks

- Blood analysis : hemograme, Quik test, anaesthesy proofs ? AIDS proofs ? what more ? | 2 weeks

- peniciline ( augmentine, orbenin )| 6 hours

- avoid sun exposure

- more than 1 inche hair to cover the scar

- get a picture before surgery of all angles !

- Pay the 1st payment to your physician.

--------------------------------------------------
POST-SURGERY ( procedure and time before surgery )
--------------------------------------------------

- Pay the 2nd and last payment to your physician.

- Cover your hair with a hat or with surronding hair when you leave the Clinic.

- Avoid sun exposure

- Do not touch your grafts or scar

- Keep at home, do not go to the street first days ( unless you not to seem Hellraiser monster )

- Go to the Clinic again to have the last visit.

- Take Painkillers ( nolotil, droal ) , peniciline (augmentine, orbenin ), swellingkiller ( urbason ) during 1 week.

- Sleep SIT on a chear or SIT on the bed the first week.

- Wash your head beyond the 4th day.

- Remove your sutures or staples ( 10 to 20 days )

- Hide yourself far of your friends and family if you want them do not discover you had a HT. ( 2 to 8 weeks )

- Get pictures ( day before, week before, month before, 3 months before, 6 months , 9 and 12 )


do I forget anything ? any comments ? please, post yours and what you will change !!!

thanks !

__________________
**********************************
IF IT ISN'T PERFECT, ISN'T GOOD
**********************************

Hi every1 !!!

I am kinda worried about several things that we have never talked to.... I am speaking about all cares you must follow before and after your surgery...

I have wrotten a list with some of then, adding more things, please feel free to add or comment anything, they are pretty conservatives in order to maximize the goal, do not mind pain or time, GOAL minds.


--------------------------------------------------
PRE-SURGERY ( procedure and time before surgery )
--------------------------------------------------

- Avoid salicilic acetil acid (aspirina) | 2 weeks

- Avoid cafeina and efedrina | 2 weeks

- Blood analysis : hemograme, Quik test, anaesthesy proofs ? AIDS proofs ? what more ? | 2 weeks

- peniciline ( augmentine, orbenin )| 6 hours

- avoid sun exposure

- more than 1 inche hair to cover the scar

- get a picture before surgery of all angles !

- Pay the 1st payment to your physician.

--------------------------------------------------
POST-SURGERY ( procedure and time before surgery )
--------------------------------------------------

- Pay the 2nd and last payment to your physician.

- Cover your hair with a hat or with surronding hair when you leave the Clinic.

- Avoid sun exposure

- Do not touch your grafts or scar

- Keep at home, do not go to the street first days ( unless you not to seem Hellraiser monster )

- Go to the Clinic again to have the last visit.

- Take Painkillers ( nolotil, droal ) , peniciline (augmentine, orbenin ), swellingkiller ( urbason ) during 1 week.

- Sleep SIT on a chear or SIT on the bed the first week.

- Wash your head beyond the 4th day.

- Remove your sutures or staples ( 10 to 20 days )

- Hide yourself far of your friends and family if you want them do not discover you had a HT. ( 2 to 8 weeks )

- Get pictures ( day before, week before, month before, 3 months before, 6 months , 9 and 12 )


do I forget anything ? any comments ? please, post yours and what you will change !!!

thanks !

__________________
**********************************
IF IT ISN'T PERFECT, ISN'T GOOD
**********************************

Relax thats all! Don't bang your head after the surgery and pray about the Aids test!

will [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic''. Arthur C. Clarke

You make some good points. I think the most important thing is to keep your head shielded from the son for up to six months. A sunburn on the recipient area can be, I've heard, deadly to transplanted follicles. Also, you may want to consider wearing a tight headband for 3-4 days after surgery so the swelling won't progress down your face (you will look like you ran head-first into a beehive). It's also important to sleep inclined for three days after surgery.
Don't worry about detection. I went to a party 10 days after surgery and no one was the wiser. Use graftcyte for post-op care.

thanks all, specially theofani to find interesting my post ...

let's add:

- relax ( take Valium )
- do not take sun till 6 months later
- band in the head ( take Urbason )
- sleep sit 1st days... ( I said ! )

and I add: POST-OP

- ICE to avoid swelling ( and take more Usbason )
- to buy food wether you keep in the room of the hotel the first days.
- About detection: I will say in the job before going for the surgery that I am climbing a mountain, so I will back 1 week later with my head shaved and redness, so I will be able to tell'em that I had an accident rising the mountain.

__________________
**********************************
IF IT ISN'T PERFECT, ISN'T GOOD
**********************************

Not sure if you know this but it is imperative that you do not apply ice to the recipient area. The doctor will probably tell you this. You can apply ice to the forehead to reduce the swelling but it's difficult and uncomfortable to keep an ice-pack to your forehead for too long. I think the drugs, the headband and sleeping inclined will do more for the swelling than anything else. Bottom line. The swelling isn't that bad anyway. It's worse for the three days after surgery. Not bad after that.

Based upon my results, which came from following my surgeon's advice strictly, I agree with AgentX208 re: use of ice.

Ten minutes of ice applied once per waking hour is what I was told and did. Applied ten minutes each to both the forehead and suture (donor) line. I know, it's a lot to do, but seems to pay off. However, absolutely, DO NOT APPLY COLD PACKS TO THE ACTUAL RECIPIENT SITES, unless you want to destroy the grafts!!!

You can also reduce edema (fluid buildup) by waearing an ace bandage wrapped around the forehead. I did this during the night while I slept.

I had very little swelling. One eye slightly closed and bruised - but mild, not serious.

Other presurgery precautions, according to my surgeon: No alcohol for two weeks prior(thins blood) leading to more post-op bleeding and scabbing. No asprin or NSAID'S for two weeks prior. Stop all supplements because some thin blood. No minoxidil, a vasodilator (more bleeding) for two weeks before. No strenuous excercise (especially weightlifting two weeks prior). No alcohol at least three days after, same with NSAID"S and asprin. Besides avoiding things that thin the blood and cause oozing and bruising, keeping blood pressure reduced is important to reduce bleeding (e.g., cut the exercise out for a couple of weeks). Increased blood pressure, increases bleeding.

To avoid swelling, be a fanatic about always keeping head position elevated above heart. Sit to tie shoes and pick up feet, for example.

Sleep five nights upright in lazy-boy or bed with pillows stacked. The fluid that causes swelling is responsive to the forces of gravity. Keep that in mind. You want the fluids to travel down, not flow back to your face.

For me, fifth, day post surgery - everything looks great. Just a little bit of purple and very slight puffiness around one eye (the purplish one). It's barely noticeable. No noticeable scabs. Things look pretty clean after following my Drs'. (Keene) post-op cleaning and care instructions to the letter, except when thrown a off a little by one full day of travel, three days after surgery to get back to Chicago.

To ease the travel problem, I bought a supply of those non-refrig. type sports cold packs, so I could ice without relying on a refrigerator or ice cubes while I travelled. But, airports and airplanes are not ideal recovery areas. If I did this again, I'd stay a full week rather than travel home on the third day, just to reduce stress and strain on the healing process. Also, if you travel, travel light so that you are not carrying much weight, or use carts or use valet assistance. I think every little bit helps.

My closure area feels a little more sore now than it did until yesterdaty, but it's clean and no sign of inflamationn or infection. It will feel much better when the sutures are removed in a couple of days. (the pain increase could be because I'm out of Darvicet,not because of any change in the donor closure. The recipient area still is tender, of course, but looks much better than I expected after 1300+ grafts.

Of course, wear a hat, stay out of sunlight/natural light as the UV rays and burn wil harm follicles. I don't know precise time for this, but I will avoid sun for a few months. Not much of a challenge when one is speaking from Chicago in December.

Paul148

paul148 is right. ICE IS GREAT!
I iced the suture line and forhead as much as possible. I took Prednisone (sp?) anti-swelling pills until they were gone.
Icing the suture line eased the feeling of tightness and was very, very soothing to me.
Icing the forehead and elevating the head is supposed to curtail swelling in that area. For me, it worked like a charm. No bruising at all or puffy eyes. Honestly, I'd really be hard pressed to tell you there was any swelling. Maybe a touch on the eyebrow line on day 4 post-op.
This is no exaggeration. But I was very diligent with the ice. I seemed to have caught a break.
I don't know if I'm lucky, a good healer, or ice is just that effective. I guess it doesn't matter to me.
I just wanted to let people know how much the frequent icing might have helped me. I certainly can't argue with my experiences.

__________________
vocor1
Knowledge is Power
-- The truth only matters if you know about it.

another point :
very important in pre surgery cares:

avoid E vitamine !

__________________
**********************************
IF IT ISN'T PERFECT, ISN'T GOOD
**********************************