wprevil

3 hours ago, FinallyHT said:

Hair only grows half an inch a month.  Give it some time.  see how it look in 5-6 weeks.

Hope youre right. Appreciate the vote of confidence!

12 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

After the trauma of surgery your scalp/hair requires time to recover. Don’t be alarmed if your hair sheds, etc. 

Appreciate that. Do you know whether patients shampoo every day or not postop?

Hi guys... 2 crucial questions:

1) Must patients typically shampoo their scalps every day postop surgery?

2) My hair growth is stagnant. My hair usually grows a lot, about an inch and a quarter a month before the surgery. So far, the length has stayed the same since postop surgery. Its now been a quarter of an inch since the surgery and has stopped growing. Is this also normal??

10 hours ago, Rahal Hair Transplant said:

@wprevil,

Personally, I don’t like to use the word pain. I prefer the word discomfort. But the truth is, everybody has a different tolerance to pain/discomfort so without knowing exactly how you’re feeling, it’s difficult to suggest whether what you’re feeling is normal.

I will say this though. It is perfectly normal to experience some level of discomfort several weeks after hair transplant surgery.  After all, many incisions have been made all over your scalp and while the procedure is considered minimally invasive, incisions made were still deep enough to insert hair follicles so that they will grow.

The pain/discomfort people typically feel several weeks postop is the actual healing process taking place so that sense, it is perfectly normal.

on the other hand, if The pain you are feeling is substantial, hard to bear and:or doesn’t seem normal compared to what I am described above… I would suggest contacting your surgeon/clinic immediately to discuss your concerns. At the very least, your doctor may prescribe something to help you deal with the pain while healing.

I hope this helps.

Best wishes,

Patient Advocate - Rahal Hair Transplant

I do agree, discomfort is a more accurate term than pain.

So, the discomfort I feel is mostly in my temples. It feels like a pinch on both temples varying in discomfort, occurring less frequently than before and lasts about 20 - 30 minutes a day, 3 - 4 days/week. Its not a pain considered unbearable at all, just bothersome.

Let me know if patients must typically shampoo their scalps every day.

Btw, my hair growth is stagnant. My hair grows an inch a month. So far, the length (quarter of an inch) has stayed the same since surgery. Is this also normal?

Looking forward to your response!

19 hours ago, gillenator said:

Yes, it’s very normal to feel pain 3 weeks post-op wherever there have been incisions made…many patients feel pain for several months however the level of pain decreases with time.

Appreciate that needed info!

bump

Something weird is happening. Its been about 3 weeks since surgery. Both sides of my temple area have been feeling sharp pain since the surgery. I feel it now about 6 hours a day.

1) Is pain 3 weeks after surgery considered normal?

2) Is it also normal feeling pain mostly in the temple area? This is very weird.

3) Should I be shampooing every day? Because when I dont shampoo I dont feel as much pain.

So I dont know for sure but after I anoint myself with the rosehip oil I feel a bit of a sting. Hence my reluctance to applying it again. Let me know what you guys think!

Hi guys.. has anyone here been prescribed rosehip oil for postop treatment after a transplant? My doc prescribed it to me after my transplant and want to know if you guys have been prescribed the same thing. If so, let me know your experiences with it.

On 12/12/2023 at 1:06 PM, Cospine said:

You're in much better shape than I envisioned. No need to panic as nearly all are gone. Just keep up the process listed above....I would use the shower to soak the remaining scabs and massage a little longer than before. 

Hey thanks. The derm today said I dont have any scabs in the recipient area, only in the donor area. He suggested shampooing a bit more roughly to get rid of those remaining scabs. Thank god! Now I look forward to future growth.

Appreciate all you guy's inputs

6 minutes ago, Cospine said:

Considering you're in day 14 and the grafts are fully secure, you should be able to use the shower with light pressure.  I would really soak the scalp as you want those scabs soft. I would massage them scabs for 10 min.

Per you're question above, I don't believe this is the healthy for the grafts and could jeopardize their survival. Maybe one of our board doctors can lend their opinion. 

Include a pic so we can see the scalp and the scabs

Greatly appreciate your much needed input. Fyi, I saw a derm today who said he sees few scabs. But I still feel hard scabs especially in the top. It feels like sandpaper.

Anyway, here's my pic. Let me know what you think:

Concerning the scabs, why cant I just let them fall off by themselves? Wouldnt that be the natural approach instead of "forcing" them off the scalp which can give way to healing issues?

55 minutes ago, Youth_Again said:

And the scabs were not getting softer ?

So I just got out from taking a bath. I foamed up on the J&J baby shampoo and lathered it on my scalp. My doc's suggestion was to gently do circular stokes on my fingertips which was not pleasant cuz my scalp is still sensitive and it felt like I was exacerbating it. But I was gentle and a bit rough, only a bit.

With a small bucket I poured cold water upon my head, fyi.

A few clusters of black scabs floated on the surface of the water in the tub that looked like baby roaches which is a good sign. Perhaps tomorrow's wash will continue that progress.

Nonetheless I scheduled with a derm tomorrow morning to get his feedback. I'll also be calling my ht doc tomorrow and hope someone at the clinic finally answers.

Quote

i guess we all heal differently 

I must agree.

5 minutes ago, Youth_Again said:

Did you spray saline water every 30 min for the first 3-4 days post op?

And did you start doing a daily wash starting day 4?

My scabs were almost all gone by themselves at day 8

The doc gave me this thermal water spray to use every 30 minutes.

Yes, started the daily wash using a derm gel water spray.

44 minutes ago, Cospine said:

Pure negligence that the Dr abandoned you post op. 

Well let's not be too hasty in our judgement. Anything could've happened like en emergency. Nonetheless I do empathize your concern.
 

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I was more than 1x per day but making sure the you are soaking the scabs....they will turn a slightly different color being more white along the outside, then massage with a foam soap and I would go longer than 5 min, then rinse.....you should see flakes of scabs in the rinse. 

You may need to massage with the foam a little harder? 

 

Appreciate this. I think soaking it in very soapy, foamy J&J baby shampoo will do, leaving it on the scalp for 20 - 30 minutes then rinse. Let's see what happens.

Yes, its mentally tough applying a "right" amount of pressure to massage the scalp without overdoing it and ruining an expensive ht. But I'll be a bit more rough without going overboard. But using circular motions by my fingertips initially then applying a bit rougher movements thereafter will be the game plan.

Quote

 

I used this for my spray but you can use water. Spray every 15 min, keep a towel around your neck. Spray every hour once you go to bed if you have to. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007M1ZQM2?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

Appreciate the product suggestion but delivery of this product will take time which I can't afford given the gravity of my scalp.

Quote

If you're not seeing progress in a few days, maybe go to a local hair transplant DR and explain the problems. They will most likely help you even if there is a small fee.

Absolutely! Or maybe seeing a local derm will do? What do you think?

10 minutes ago, Cospine said:

I would be spraying my scalp continuously with water  every 15-30 min  to help loosen the scabs up. My Dr instructions were washing scalp 2-3 per day using  5 min pouring water over scalp continuously using a small bucket, foam up scabs with a mild hair soap and very gently massaging with the tips of your fingertips (the ridges in your skin acts slightly similar to an ultrafine sandpaper) for 5 min, then rinse for 5 min with small bucket again. Then spray like a mofo for days until those scabs start to get smaller and fall out. Keep spraying your scalp to keep the scabs from getting hard. 2 weeks for large amount of scabs sounds too long.

Those are basically the same instructions my doc (Couto) handed me. But the original pamphlet I got called for washing the scalp 2 - 3 times a day as you said. But later they handed me a revised pamphlet instructing to wash once a day.

Calling and emailing the clinic gets 0 response as if they ceased to exist.

28 minutes ago, Melvin- Admin said:

but follow your surgeons directions.

The problem is that I've tried calling the clinic for several days now with 0 response. Emailing yields no response either. I dont understand.. its like a big mystery.

3 hours ago, Melvin- Admin said:

 

So the guy in the video used conditioner. But others suggested using shampoo. Dont you think conditioner may be too rough for the a recent transplant and that shampoo may be safer and likely more effective?

And today marks 2 weeks since my transplant. I have lots of scabs. Do you think I'm ready for the method in the video or should I wait?

How many days do you think it will take for all the scabs to be removed?

49 minutes ago, Shadman said:

use a shampoo, foam it up wait for around 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile spray saline water so that scabs become softer. With gauge pressure gently and by doing it scabs should be removed

So use any shampoo? I was thinking of using johnson & johnson baby shampoo.

And does the fabric of the gauze help "rake" the scabs off?

Hey everyone,

I had surgery 2 weeks ago to the day. Scabs are hard and a bit hard to dislodge. I tried calling the clinic several times since last week but no one answers the phone. Very strange.

I tried shampooing the scabs away gently but theyre still hard. When I try to dislodge the scabs with my finger very gently they feel too stubborn to be removed.

Btw, my whole scalp is still numb. And theres a small point (like 2mm squared) in the left temple area that has discomfort every 6 minutes. As mentioned, its a very small point which is not serious but its discomforting.

What do you guys recommend?

2 minutes ago, Sunset Dune said:

There are lots of Arabs and Italians with hair loss. 

Understood. Thank you for that.

7 hours ago, BeHappy said:

Perez Hilton wasn't bald to begin with. This is his "Before" picture. He only had a bit of thinning in the front. A minor hair transplant to fill it in made it look great, but he still kept losing the rest of his hair, so he had to have additional transplants to keep filling in the additional areas that kept thinning. Having a hair transplant doesn't stop the native hair from continuing to thin. If he hadn't had any hair transplants he'd probably be totally bald now.

 

Appreciate the feedback as it makes sense. Just trying to understand how the process works. I got a question. Do you think baldness happens to white guys like Perez more often than other groups? I ask because I dont see arabs and italians with hair loss.

Also I've seen homeless people with no hair loss. Has anyone else seen this phenomenon?

7 hours ago, AB2000 said:

We've seen bad results where patients get a lot planted in the frontal third, but then some years later, after their balding pattern continues, be left with strange looking clumps of transplanted hair with a large gap behind it from the newly opened real estate.

Appreciate the reply. So in my case the front is very sparse. That being the case, I dont think I have to worry about losing any native hairs in that area due to future hair loss since the grand majority of follicles will be transplanted. Hope this makes sense. But let me know what you think nonetheless.

Btw heres a shot of my front. Let me know what you think based on what I said:

8 hours ago, A_4_Archan said:

You have chosen very skilled and honest and ethical doctor ....

I hope so! I dont know the man as a doc but based on research he looks highly qualified. Lets just hope everything works should I decide on him. Thanks bro and I look forward to your future advice! Youre a god man!

23 minutes ago, A_4_Archan said:

Plan in detail like how much coverage do you wish to have, how much density you can achieve in one procedure ,what is the future if you don't take medication ,ask him/her if you will need any procedure in future if you don't take medication ,note down all the concerns you have and than explain him/her all the reservation/concerns you have regarding the surgery and see what he/she has to say about all this and than take your decision.

Thanks for the advice. Just so you know, Couto is my doc. I'm scheduled for 3000 grafts spaced out on 3 separate days or 1000 grafts/ day for those 3 days.

I already told him that I cant take any meds and he's ok with that.

He suggested that after my procedure, I not read up on, discuss or do any researching regarding shock loss, issues with transplants, etc. He says that can pump stress hormones which can exacerbate the results of the surgery. Its hard not to do these things since theyre on the forefront of my mind.