anyong22

I am only 1.5 weeks post-op and when a lot of my scabs and crusting on the front hair-line and the sides (I had a lot of redness and dried blood) are rubbing off in the shower or immediately after, there are always little hairs embedded in them. I was told by my doctor that this is normal and the grafts are shedding, but I thought this happens 2-3 weeks post-op? This started happening for me at at about 1 week post-op. And other people on these forums are saying that it is normal, and they are only the grafts if you see the bulb at the end? What does that mean, how exactly would the bulb look? Because I can't quite tell, but I do so an end to the hair that looks like the bulb. I guess I am just confused because some people are saying these are just the shafts, and the actual graft is safe. And my doctor said it is probably the grafts starting to shed. Anyone else have to deal with this? I really hate the thought that my hair transplant may be wasted because of the scabbing and crusting removing my implanted hairs

HARIRI: From what I hear staples are far superior to the sutures when it comes to causing less scaring. MMHCE: When you say other genetic factors and race affect the size and serviceability of a scar--- are there certain races, skin shades, hair colors etc that lead to for the most part better or less noticeable scares than other races, skin shades and hair colors?

That's an interesting way to look at it, Thanks for posting that. I guess maybe I am over-thinking it quite a bit and overplaying the importance Rogaine has in the long-run. I guess the only thing that kind of threw me off was that Dr. Hasson and Wong are the only ones I have heard of on this board that ask for more than 4 weeks. 4 weeks is usually the highest number you see from other docs, with most being much lower. So I was just curious as to why they would be the only ones. But then again, they DO seem like the best, so that could have something to do with it. So in your opinion, do you feel like if you had discontinued Rogaine 4-5 weeks before your procedure as opposed to 8 weeks or more, it would have had any effect on your outcome?

I would definitely see what you can do about rescheduling if you are still able to my opinion. Applying Minoxidil 2 days before an HT seems like it could be a big problem. If you don't mind my asking, who is your surgeon? Did he give any information about when to stop using Rogaine, Aspirin etc?

I guess that makes sense, from the better safe than story standpoint. It's just my only issue is in the past whenever I have stopped using Minoxidil for an extended period of time I always notice a drastic decrease in hair. And even when I resume its use it seems the damage is done, and it never got any better. So all I'm saying is that if there is evidence that shows that the effects of Minoxodil wear off after a week or 2, why stop using it for an ADDITIONAL 6 weeks if nobody has been able to prove that the difference in the blood thickness is minimal if there even IS a difference? Why suspend Rogaine for that extra time, when you KNOW for a fact that you will lose more hair and you are un-doing your progress, just on a "better safe than story" mentality that we currently don't have any evidence to prove that it even makes a difference? That's all I'm asking for, really. Is how to know what is ENOUGH, without over-doing it just on the off-chance that it might be more effective. Or even if someone can provide any reliable information on why more than a month is necessary, then I would be sold. The problem is I haven't seen any. That's why I was hoping one of the surgeons could weigh in on this and explain why there is such a big discrepancy between what each surgeon recommends and what they are basing this time-frame on.

I definitely understand WHY they request the use of Minodixil to be suspended, and nobody wants to take those chances. I am just curious as to what is a reasonable amount of time to be off of it? In my opinion 8 weeks seems like overkill (Hasson & Wong). And 0% Weeks seems irresponsible and reckless (Shapiro). How is it possible to know what is a REASONABLE amount of time to stop using it? Shouldn't 2-4 full weeks do the trick??

Yeah that's what confusing. Each clinic has a very different set of instructions when it comes to Rogaine. How do I know who is the most reliable and who to go with? I mean it is the same procedure, so I don't understand why there is such a big discrepancy. What is a reasonable amount of time to suspend the use of Rogaine prior to an HT? I mean I don't really believe in the people who say it is absolutely not necessary to stop using it. But on the other hand, I feel like 2 months is really excessive. When I stop using Rogaine for a week, I feel my hairs starting to fall out as if it has already stopped working and has left my system.

Everywhere you look or ask, even among different surgeons, there is a huge difference in what they recommend for how long prior to the HT to suspend Rogaine use. What is the reason for this? I understand that Rogaine increases blood flow to the scalp and can thin the blood, thus it can result in complications and excessive bleeding during the procedure. But shouldn't it be known by now exactly how LONG to discontinue for? I ask because some surgeons like Dr. Shapiro say discontinuing is NOT necessary at all, and others have said to discontinue it just a few days prior. Then you have a bunch of other surgeons saying they recommend 3 or 4 weeks, and some say 5 or even 6 weeks. I even heard that Hasson & Wong say no Rogaine for 2 months prior to the procedure? What's with this big discrepancy between surgeons? I know that people should follow their own surgeons instructions before the procuedure-- and it just baffles me because these are all respectable surgeons, with complete differeing viewpoints on something, that at this point should be a somewhat established fact. Is there any proof that shows that Rogaine takes a full 2 months to leave the system and support some surgeons, or any proof that its out of the system within a day or so? etc. How do we know whats the best answer? I have not scheduled a procedure yet, and have not even decided on a surgeon-- but this is just something that strikes me as odd. Also on a side-note-- since the use of Rogaine is not recommended because of the increased blood flow and thinner blood aspect of it, does that mean other things that cause those same things (excercise, running, multi-vitamins, etc) should be stopped too? Because I go to the gym and run on a daily basis, and take vitamins quite frequently too. And just like with Rogaine, I don't want to have to discontinue those routines for longer than actually needed. Anyway if someone can shed some light on this, it would really help out.