Blood Test Question

[MORE_HAIR]

Hey guys.

 

Just wondering how many of you were asked by your Doc for a blood test ?

I had one recently on my own during an annual check-up and all was well....but was just curious about the HT docs.

 

Thanks,

More_hair

[Bill - Seemiller]

More_Hair,

 

I had to get a blood test for my hair transplant with Dr. True. It was not required for my first surgery with Dr. Katz or my third with Dr. Hasson.

 

Bill

[MORE_HAIR]

Thanks Bill.

 

 

More_hair

[chucky]

why do some docs ask for these tests and some dont.is it to see if you have certain diseases

[NervousNelly]

Primarily. They want to know what they are dealing with. No surprises is always a good thing.

[chucky]

thanks for replying NN but what do you mean by surprises,ie aids,haemophilia etc and why do some of the top docs not ask for this information.i never had it done previously but i made the wrong choices then.

Thanks BM

[MrJobi]

I think if I was a surgeon I would do the same. I know Dr. True was a regular doctor prior to becoming a surgeon so maybe that relates.

[hairthere]

feller requires it. they test you for hiv and hep a and b...

[MrJobi]

I would want to know if a patient has these conditions prior to surgery. Just covering your butt.

[chucky]

i can understand docs wanting this info incase of an accident or cross contamination but as Bill stated his 1st and 3rd ht did not require blood work.

i thought it was standard for this to be asked for in north america but you learn something new everyday

[blowdry]

Its not only to protect the doctor, but his/her entire staff....fyi

[Hair2day]

Some Drs order platelet function tests or bleeding times pre-op, so there are no intra-op surprises w/ bleeding. That is also the reason why they request that patients abstain from agents w/ anti-coagulant properties e.g., ASA, EtOH, Vit E prior to the procedure.

[Dr. Michael Beehner]

This debate as to whether or not a hair translant surgeon should do pre-operative blood testing has been going on for years and is probably pretty evenly divided in numbers as to supporters for the two opposite opinions.

First of all, the main two conditions that are being checked for by the doctors who do test are HIV and Hepatitis C. Others will check a blood count, clotting studies, chemistry studies (liver, kidney function, etc). One advantage of having this information on the patient's chart before surgery is that, should the surgeon or one of his assistants be stuck by a bloody sharp during the surgery, immediate measures can be taken to minimize the chance of later serious infection for that person. There are anti-HIV drugs that can be started quickly for instance. If one has to wait for the patient's blood tests to come back, there is a slight delay. One weakness to this strategy is that the blood tests do not become positive sometimes for a few months from the time a patient might be come infected, so that a surgical team could conceivably relax their way of doing things with a "negative" HIV and Hep C test, and yet still be vulnerable to becoming infected.

Our own clinic happens to be one of the ones that does not require blood tests, except in the case of female patients, in whom I want to make sure that some appropriate blood work has been done in the previous two years to rule out thyroid, low iron, and possible hormonal causes for hair loss. Most doctors, like myself, who don't routinely obtain blood work, perform each surgery as if the patient actually was positive for one of these infections. (Obviously, the doctors who do test pretty much do this also, I should add.) We never have two hands moving at the same time over the head when a sharp is being used. We keep all open sharps off the surgical tray except as urgently needed at that time and with the sharp ends protected up against or under a covering object so that a sweep of the hand could not encounter the sharp edge or point. All gauze is kept off the tray, as it can cover a sharp. A large sharps throwaway red bin is directly behind me in which I immediately throw any sharp I am done using. Eye, nose, mouth, and skin coverage are also an important part of these precautions, as blood or bloody fluid can spray at times during the operation. I should add that in our consent form the patient agrees to have his blood drawn should an accidental stick occur.

Both positions have their merits. I happen to have a smaller practice in which I am on top of every detail and pretty much direct how each maneuver of a sharp is handled, so I feel I have control of keeping unnecessary sticks to an absolute rarity. If I was the director of a larger clinic with several doctors working for me and a large number of assistants, I think I would feel a greater "corporate" responsibility for all of these people, whom I wasn't personally supervising every minute, and also would feel a greater medical-legal threat to this larger entity, and I too would probably test each patient to protect myself and them, both from a health standpoint and from a medical-legal one.

As I mentioned before, because even a "negative" patient could be infected, I feel most comfortable in my sized practice not testing and using universal precautions during each case as if the patient was infected. It goes without saying that, if during the initial consultation I have any doubts as to the patient's health status, I will always refer him back to his own physician for evaluation or send for his records to document that he is healthy.

Mike Beehner, M.D.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Dr. Beehner,

 

Thank you for your detailed reply. I think this will help our members and guests understand more about why some hair transplant physicians require blood testing while others do not.

 

Thank you as always for your medical expert advice.

 

Bill

[chucky]

yeah thanks dr beehner thats answered all my questions not that i have anything to worry about as already had the all clear,phew

[YoungGuy]

I had a blood test done before my surgery. Boy, was it nerve wracking. You know you don't have HIV, you know you haven't been engaged in high-risk behavior, and yet the few days it takes for the blood test to come back & confirm that you're ok are some of the longest in yer life