looking for some answers

[creepingback]

I will be having hair restoration in a couple months in Thailand with Dr. Damkerng Pathomvanich...

just hoping I could get a few questions answered...

 

In general how long does the receipt and donor areas stay red? is there anything I can do to help it?

 

I don't use Rogain now just proscar... should I use it on my donor are, receipt area after?

 

When will it look like pre-surgery? I will be gone for a month will it be noticeable that anything was done when I return home?

 

When will I be able to swim?

 

Any Recommendation for faster healing and for less scaring?

 

Will wearing a hat everyday for the first month cause any problems?

 

Thanks in Advance

[creepingback]

I will be having hair restoration in a couple months in Thailand with Dr. Damkerng Pathomvanich...

just hoping I could get a few questions answered...

 

In general how long does the receipt and donor areas stay red? is there anything I can do to help it?

 

I don't use Rogain now just proscar... should I use it on my donor are, receipt area after?

 

When will it look like pre-surgery? I will be gone for a month will it be noticeable that anything was done when I return home?

 

When will I be able to swim?

 

Any Recommendation for faster healing and for less scaring?

 

Will wearing a hat everyday for the first month cause any problems?

 

Thanks in Advance

[kamin]

creepingback,

 

All of your questions have already been answered in previous posts. Use the 'Find' feature to search the archives!

[Mark H]

That's true Kamin, but I've nothing better to do, so I'll answer in brief:

 

How long the doner area will stay red depends on your personal reaction, size of HT, skill of doctor, so its impossible to answer. I had a fairly large HT of over 4000 and six weeks into it I still have slight redness.

 

Rogaine: Nobody knows for sure, but a few days after procedure, you can probably start using rogaine, but ONLY the foam kind, because it doesn't contain the irritants that the liquid does. I prefer it anyway. I happen to use it all over my head right now. Yes, I know its only supposed to work on the crown, but it can work elsewhere too, and if you don't put it there it can't happen, eh? Besides, my initial goal is to shorten the sleeping phase of my HT hair. Nobody knows it it helps do that one way or the other, but should do no harm.

 

When will you be back to square one? Impossible to answer. If your head is shaved, it will be quite some months. If not, _maybe_ sooner, but your HT surgery may go more slowly.

 

Swimming I know nothing about, but I'd stay away for a few months myself. Pools have chlorine, and the ocean is acidic. Be nice to your hair for a few months.

 

Don't touch or bump your head, especially in the first few weeks. Stay out of the sun, don't scratch.

 

Wearing a hat is fine, even right after a procedure. My doctor puts celophane on top of your hair as extra protection. It may not be necessary, but do you want to take a chance?

 

Good Luck,

 

mark

[Bill - Seemiller]

Hello creepingback (and kamin and Mark H...gee I seem to be running into you guys a lot...but that's great! Always good to see a familiar face...or alias ),

 

I actually posted something similiar on a post a few below yours...so I'll copy/paste it here...so hopefully this will help you.

 

Also, depending on what your doc says...but I believe you shouldn't go swimming for at least 3 weeks...if my memory serves me correctly.

 

-----

 

You made some absolutely tremedous points and the answer, unfortunately really does depend. With a name like Paris, the first thing I'm going to ask is if you are male or female? Don't be insulted by the question...but depending on whether you are male or female will yield different answers. I'm going to assume you're a man because of the "dude it depends" statement.

 

That being said, you are absolutely right....if the recipient area is shaved it will take awhile for you to look "normal" again depending on what you define as normal. I just got back from a 3701 graft megasession from Hasson and Wong so right now I"m in that boat. I'm only Day 6, however, I've had 2 HTs before so I've been around the block a bit and know how this all works.

 

I'll answer the question this way...

 

1. Between 3-5 days you may get some swelling....it will most likely be gone entirely by about day 5 or 6. You can't avoid it if it happens...don't go out...just stay in and look in the mirror and laugh and have fun with it. It is only temporary

 

2. After about 7-10 days most of the scabs should be gone from your head so your recipient area will look a bit pink, but scabs will be gone

 

3. After about 10-14 days, you can take the sultures/staples out. If you want to look somewhat normal at this point, shave the rest of your head to match the top...this will give you the appearance of looking somewhat normal but with a shaved head (which might not be normal for you, but normal for others). The only thing different is your scar in the back will be noticable...it depends on how "ok" you are with that.

 

4. After about 2-4 weeks, you will start and finish losing most of the grafts that were transplanted....you will look more like you did before any surgery. Most pinkness should be close to gone by about 4 weeks also. To look somewhat normal, you are still going to have to sport a short hairdo....personally, my best advice is keep it buzzed or short for awhile

 

5. About 5-8 weeks, a lot of people, including myself start to experience shockloss in the recipient area and the donor area...this will give the appearance of thinner hair and balding...plus makes the scar area look more prominent. I'm sorry to say...there is nobody who can guarantee this won't happen.

 

6. About 3-4 months, most people start growing in their new hair, and a lot of shockloss also starts to recover, especially in the donor area. Still, to remain looking normal, I'd keep the hair short until about 4 months

 

7. 4 months +, you're pretty homefree looking normal. This is where I would start go allow my hair to grow longer to allow the new growth to look the part and allow the donor area to be slightly more covered again.

 

So...my friend...I'm not sure if this helps you...but there really isn't any definition of normal when you talk about this. You can look pretty normal right off the bat, minimum 6 days to account for swelling to go down by wearing a baseball cap or bandana everywhere you go. But with this process, you will not be able to go out hatless for quite sometime without something just not looking right for some time. But you have to look at the long term picture. If you are too worried about the short term...you might not want to go through with it...but in the long term, you'll have a lot more hair. So best advice...find ways to conceal your head after the surgery for sometime if you can get away with it. The best way to camoflauge is a hat...because nobody can see anything under there....you could try a hairpiece, but most people will notice that, no matter how hard you try to make it perfect. Does this help?

 

Bill