transplanted hairs falling out

[finnari]

At what point post op is it normal for the transplanted hairs to shed? I have noticed some in my hat at post op day 10.

 

If they fall out sooner does it mean it failed?

[finnari]

At what point post op is it normal for the transplanted hairs to shed? I have noticed some in my hat at post op day 10.

 

If they fall out sooner does it mean it failed?

[Jotronic]

Anywhere from one or two hairs in the first week on out to five or six weeks. Relax, it's normal

[AndrewYoung]

Oh you'll know if you lost the graft. Trust me, I lost one. Dumnass that I was, saw a flaking scab, tried to extract it with a comb (don't ask me why) pulled the graft right out. A lot of blood. A lot! Like gushing down my face. Yelled at my wife. Obviously loud and frightened enough that she came running up the stairs. She got a cool, wet cloth, put some presure on it and it quickly stopped. Scared the hell out of me. Oh well, one down, 3,523 still in place!

 

Some will go sooner, some later. As Jotronic said, it's normal. Just try to relax. Some won't shed at all. You might, I say might, lose a few but probably 99.9% of those shedders will probably come back. Some sooner, some later.

[Hair to Style]

Haven't noticed lost hairs yet at day 8-9. Don't think I've lost any graphs,been real careful. They like the spray bottle. To wash them. Crusts are slowing down. I use the grapt cyte shampoo.3815 grafts with lots of threes.

I am going to ask for a total.Stitches out tomorrow.

[petesman]

one month after op,, havnt notice hair on my pillow or anything like that but defo looks alot thinner than it did a couple of weeks ago!

[Guest Brad Limmer]

Two to four weeks is the most common time frame for the grafts to be shed. I have seen it occur a little sooner, especialy if a person has naturally short grafts. The shorter the graft, the more quickly it migrates up and out.

 

This is completely normal and expected in most. About 5% of patients are lucky and retain most of their grafts and have hair about 1 inch long in 2 months. The fact that 95%+ of grafts are shed is the reason graft storage mediums are being closely evaluated. Not that these solutions will increase the overall survival, but because they might prevent this shedding/dormant period speeding up patients achieving their final results.

 

If you look at Jessica's post from yesterday(in the photo album section of the forum) you can see Jimmy's 17 day post op photos demonstrating the same shedding your are currently having.

 

Relax, enjoy and wait 3 months and all will be good.

 

Brad Limmer, MD

[scooping around]

I have quite a few hair near the hairline area that still haven't shed yet, and don't think they will. Is it strange to be still a bit numb in the receipient area a month and a week post op?

[Al - Moderator]

Is it strange to be still a bit numb in the receipient area a month and a week post op?

 

It's normal for numbness to stay for several months or more. Normal feeling will usually gradually come back over time. In some extreme cases the numbness may never go away.