Dr. Glenn Charles

As long as you did not see any active bleeding most likely you did not harm any of the transplanted hair follicles. Smoking is never a good idea when you have wounds that need to heal. Now would be a good time to really cut down or quit. At the very least use extreme moderation. Now that you are 1 week post-op I recommend doing what you did on post-op day 2 at least 3 times per day. Do you need a prescription for this?

Once all the scabbing has gone away there is no harm in getting a haircut. Just make sure that if you had a strip type donor removal that you do not cut the hair to short in the back making it difficult to camaflauge where the stitches were. I always recommend my patients who use concealers to wait 5-7 days post-op before using it again.

Yes, a solarium can have similar harmful effects as the sun. Are you looking to tan the body? If so, you can keep the transplanted area covered and not cause any harm to the grafts. Generally if the recipient area has returned to its normal skin color (pigmentation) then a small amount of sun exposure is not harmful. It is never recommended to sunburn the scalp in an area where previous hair transplants have been placed.

Good question. When should a patient stop transplanting hairs into a particular area. There are many factors that should be considered when making that decision. How much hair did you start with? How old are you? What is your family history of hair loss? Are your goals realistic? You may want to consider saving some donor to help give coverage if other areas of thinning develop. Or do you just go for it and pray for cloning. One thing I know for sure is that you should wait until this most recent procedure grows in completely before you make any decisions. Everyone has certain limit of available donor follicles. Make sure you use them very wisely!

That would be a reasonable request. Lateral slit technique can be used in any area if done carefully and even easier if the hair is shaved. I use lateral slits for all hairline work. I will use lateral slits in other areas if ther eis adaquate space. When placing grafts between hairs that are spaced closely together I will generally use vertical incisions with very tiny blades that I make myself. Using small guage needles is another acceptable method of making incisions between existing hairs.

There are some great hair transplant doctors who require the patients shave the hair and other excellent doctors who do not require shaving. One thing for sure is that the surgery is easier to perform if there is no hair to work around. The question is what is more important? Making the surgery easy for the doctor and staff or keeping the patient happy even though the surgery may take a little longer. When a mega session of densely packed grafts are placed into an area that has existing hair. There is often the development of post operative shock and significant thinning. This can be very upsetting to the patient. Some physicians may choose to require shaving prior to surgery to avoid the potential patient complaints. Interestingly enough I have heard that some docs actually charge more if the patient does not shave.

That really is a tough call. You will find that some hair transplant physicians will recommend one or the other. There is also many who would recommend patients using both in combination. They claim that they can have a synergistic effect (Helping each other to work better). However, there are not enough studies to prove this point. There are certainly more topical scalp complaints with patients who use Rogaine. It is well documented that in many cases if a patient stops using the Rogaine, within a short period of time they may experience a significant shedding of hairs. Because Propecia actually attacks the genetic issue of Male Pattern Baldness I believe using Finasteride by itself initially makes more sense. If after 9-12 months you see no slow down of hair loss you could always add Rogaine to your regimen.

Blow drying hair is OK if done properly. It is important to use a cooler setting so you do not cause any additional irritation or burning to the scalp. You probably want to hold the blow dryer a little farther away from the scalp than you normally do.

There is no exact science to positively impacting good growth following hair transplantation surgery. I do feel strongly about the diet including vitamins and minerals playing an important role. The other things like smoking, drinking alcohol, and caffiene probably do play a role. If they are done in moderation most likely they will not cause much damage. If they are abused as in most cases they will probably cause some degree of harm. Exercising a week or so after the procedure should not cause any negative effects and infact might be of benefit. Just make sure not to over flex the neck which may cause stretching of the donor scar.

Softening of the hairline should be addressed by the surgeon during the procedure. It is critical that the thinner/finer hairs be used in the hairline. Thick/ coarse hairs will most likely have a similar look and feel no matter where it is placed. It is true that sometimes hairs will be more brittle and kinky during its first growth cycle. After repeated growth cycles and hair cuts those same hairs might begin to look and feel softer, but are probably just finally returning to their original state.

No patient can make a final opinion about the success of their procedure at the 5 month stage. The fact that you are seeing some action (growth) already is a good sign. Since this was your second surgery you should wait 12-15 months before making final grading of your hair transplantation procedure. Dr. Feller is a good doctor and has a strong history of tending to his patients needs and concerns. If you give him the proper chance I am confident he will work with you and help you reach your goals as long as they are realistic.

Keep in mind that results from a second procedure can sometimes take a little longer to achieve than results from the first procedure. You first need to see if you need and/or want a third procedure and if so were are the new grafts going to give you the most benefit. Nothing worse that sticking a new graft right on top of a previously placed graft that just has not sprouted yet. Patience will pay off in the long run.

Way to early to determine the success of your procedure. Dr. Cooley is a excellent Hair Restoration surgeon, but you must still wait the proper amount of time to obtain your final results. In some patients this may take 12 months. Remember staring in the mirror does not make the hair grow in any faster.

To my knowledge there has been no studies showing the effectiveness of Scarderma in hair transplantation. I am sure that you could find other products with similar ingredients for a cheaper price. Simple vitamin E oil has been suggested to improve healing and reduce scarring. I am confident that the products mentioned above will not cause any harm. However, how much benifit you gain from using them is debatable.

Try not to panic. You have no choice but to continue waiting patiently. It can take up to 6 months for the beginning of growth. Hopefully, you are just having a normal delay and everything will turn out well. You can always contact your doctor so they can give you some reassurance.

You cannot go wrong with any of the Physicians you are considering. Being as young as you are you might want to think about the commitment you will be making if you graft the crown area now. I would recommend finishing the most important area first (Hairline) before starting a secondary project. If you understand the commitment you are making and are willing to do more transplants if the crown area expands with aging, then grafting the crown at the same time would be acceptable.

I would be the first to admit that Hair Transplantation is one of the most staff dependent procedures in medicine. You have to remember that these are the people that create the grafts and do most od the placing. That means that they are handling the grafts much more than the doctor. It is critical that they are watched very closely by the doctor and that they also take as much pride in the job as the physician. I value my staff and realize that I would not be where I am today without them.

Luckily for you anything is possible. Unfortunetly, this is very rare. So for all of the patients who recently had hair transplantation or those who are considering it, I would not count on being so lucky. I have had only a few patients over the past 11 years that had similar experiences. I have had several patients that noticed some immediate growth up to 2-4 weeks after surgery, but most let me know that it then fell out. I explained to them that they had a delayed shock experience which is relatively common.

The amount of technician involvement varies greatly among the many hair restoration physicians. There is a common denominator that probably has a significant impact on the actual results. This is the experience of the person who is doing the graft placement. Some technicians can learn this procedure quickly and others may take a long time to get the feel for it. It is up to the doctor to be able to recognize which staff members have this ability. It is common for some technicians to be better at cutting vs placing and visa versa. The key is to not have someone perform a task that they are not capable of. I personally think that the most critical area of graft placement is the hairline. This area should have direct doctor involvement. Also, every graft should be checked for proper depth and angulation by the doctor before any patient leaves the surgical suite.

If all the redness and irritation are gone from the surgery you probably have nothing to worry about. If there is still some remaining than you might want to concider using a clear non-comedogenic sun screen just in case.

There is no problem taking a warm bath after the procedure to relax. Make sure that if you are using hot water that it does not come in contact with the grafted or donor area. Also, be careful to not expose yourself to steam for more than a few minutes at a time.

I tell my patients that they can start using the Rogaine 5% 10-14 days after the procedure. I have heard some physicians tell patients that they can resume the Rogaine as soon as 5 days post-op. I think the important issue is that all irritation from the surgery should be gone before using Rogaine. This can take anywhere between 5-14 days. So it is understandable that there is different instructions being given to patients by different doctors.

Your question is valid. Unfortunately, many celebrities let their management make most of the important decisions for them. These managers assume that the most expensive or most advertised clinics are the best. We all know this is not even close to being correct. On the other hand, there are many hair transplants performed on celebrities by the so called best doctors in the world. Unfortunately, most of the time these celebrities request complete confidentiality, and these great doctors actually honor the request.

At 17 days post-op you can resume using the Nizoral shampoo at the same frequency you did before the procedure. I hope you were not told you needed to stop taking Finesteride. If you were, I recommend you start taking it again immediately.

3 weeks is a long time to still have scabs. No matter which hair transplant surgeon performed your surgery. There is a good chance that you are not washing aggressively enough. At this point you really cannot hurt a graft. The follicles should be safely healed below the skin. Still the best plan is to contact the Doctor that performed your surgery and ask them what you should do.