Donor area pain after FUE

[slimhead]

What could help hasten the healing process? Vitamins, foods, etc?

[RoyBatty]

I'm at day 16 now of my FUE and although I don't have pain, I still have little tingles that flash at various places in the donor area and there's still some redness in the donor area as well as the recipient area. But it's more itchy in the donor area than anything. The recipient area is just barely itchy now, but no pain or tingles. I've been waiting to buzz it down and I guess it'll be fine to do that on Sunday.

[slimhead]

Did you experience pain prior to day 16th?

I have the tingles in the donor area just like you.

[Mickey85]

Yes, but i think the issue some people are having with FUE pain (myself included) is the delayed onset and the intensity of it.

Getting an ear pierced would only be very short term pain.

 

I had my helix pierced(cartilage) and couldn't sleep on the side of my head for 5 days lol.

[RoyBatty]

Did you experience pain prior to day 16th?

I have the tingles in the donor area just like you.

 

I don't recall much pain post-op. I was popping vicadin and the local anasthetic seemed to linger on for a couple days at least.

 

Another thing is if that I lean my head way back as if I'm attempting to rest my head on my shoulder I can feel a little numbness, but not pain.

[Since21]

Using ice packs can also effectively provide some temporary relief especially just before bedtime so that the chronic nature of the discomfort subsides enough to fall asleep.

 

Yes, I forgot how effective they were with swelling and numbing the pain in my donor area (I had FUT). I would lie on a large ice pack for 10-15 minutes several times a day. It is one of the best defenses against pain and inflammation.

[Dr. Carlos Wesley]

Great topic.

 

One simple and effective method for relief of this short-term discomfort is applying a hot towel soaked in epsom salt water to the back of your head. This can be repeated 3-4 times for a few minutes each time. This can help soothe any discomfort, which will resolve in time.

 

Our office conducted a study on post-op donor discomfort a few years back. While it was primarily focused on FUT, it would be interesting to also identify factors that lead to this rare occurrence after FUE as well.

 

[slimhead]

Pain is gone around day 11. Tingles are still around but slowly diminishing. I'm taking vitamin B and it helps.

[Paulygon]

Pain is gone around day 11. Tingles are still around but slowly diminishing. I'm taking vitamin B and it helps.

 

In addition to Vitamin B I would think that Vitamins A, E and C would help at least in regard to healing & skin damage.

 

I've only had FUT so far, but I do plan for FUE for my next procedure.. has anybody here had both? Which would you say (FUT vs FUE) causes worse pain in the donor area? I would imagine, taking out a strip would have a higher level of pain.. although, the FUT appears to have a more unpredictable onset of pain..

Edited March 12, 2014 by Paulygon

[gillenator]

I have conversed with an endless amount of HT patients over the past four decades and there is no question IMHO, that there is a higher level of corresponding pain with FUHT than FUE.

 

I say IMHO because I can only go by what FUE patients have told me since I only had FUHT myself. And the ones who had both techniques tell me that for the most part, there is no comparison that FUE is far more painless.

 

It continues to be just one of the benefits and advantages of FUE.

[Paulygon]

Gillenator, Thank you for the answer. It makes sense that strip would be more painful than FUE (and it wasn't as bad as I feared it would be-- the anticipation is the worst part).

I am still considering whether to go for FUT or FUE for my next round of HT. Anybody have thoughts on that? Would it be wise to go for as many FUT's as I can (my doctor says based on my scalp laxity I can probably do about 3 more) before I start FUE's? I see it as getting more for my money with FUT route.. and since I've already had one, I have a scar in the back anyway. I've experienced the pain, and since it wasn't really that bad I would do it again.

[gillenator]

Here's the deal. Continued strip excisions can be a roll of the dice. Some guys never regain enough laxity to continue on. Yes, although you may already have a strip scar now, that's no guarantee that the next one will come out the same. It also depends a great deal on your goals regarding how short you will want to wear your hair.

 

Please allow me to use my own situation. I have had four separate strip procedures. Quite frankly, cost had a lot to do with it. I could not afford 7,000 total grafts by FUE which would have equated to $56,000.00 US. And on my last strip in 2006, my laxity was barely enough to accommodate that last strip excision, In fact, my surgeon used staples to close me against my desire but he did not want me to end up with a wider than desired scar. Neither did I.

 

Yet I do not like a short or buzzed hairstyle and I will never wear my hair that short. But I always inform guys who do want to wear a short hair style to stay away from strip. Even if they cannot afford FUE, then wait till you can afford it.

 

I am 59 years old and if I was 29, it's very possible that I would feel differently.

 

Yet there is such a thing as bad FUE. I still hear from guys who had FUE from someone not competent with it or are just learning it. Most learn with larger punches which can do a lot of collateral damage with manual extractions. In fact, some of them have such damaged donor zones that they cannot have any more harvests whether strip or FUE.

 

So if the individual elects to go with FUE, be very careful on picking the right surgeon.

 

Moral of the story? Choose a good proven surgeon whether it's strip or FUE!...

[Paulygon]

Here's the deal. Continued strip excisions can be a roll of the dice. Some guys never regain enough laxity to continue on. Yes, although you may already have a strip scar now, that's no guarantee that the next one will come out the same. It also depends a great deal on your goals regarding how short you will want to wear your hair.

 

Please allow me to use my own situation. I have had four separate strip procedures. Quite frankly, cost had a lot to do with it. I could not afford 7,000 total grafts by FUE which would have equated to $56,000.00 US. And on my last strip in 2006, my laxity was barely enough to accommodate that last strip excision, In fact, my surgeon used staples to close me against my desire but he did not want me to end up with a wider than desired scar. Neither did I.

 

Yet I do not like a short or buzzed hairstyle and I will never wear my hair that short. But I always inform guys who do want to wear a short hair style to stay away from strip. Even if they cannot afford FUE, then wait till you can afford it.

 

I am 59 years old and if I was 29, it's very possible that I would feel differently.

 

Yet there is such a thing as bad FUE. I still hear from guys who had FUE from someone not competent with it or are just learning it. Most learn with larger punches which can do a lot of collateral damage with manual extractions. In fact, some of them have such damaged donor zones that they cannot have any more harvests whether strip or FUE.

 

So if the individual elects to go with FUE, be very careful on picking the right surgeon.

 

Moral of the story? Choose a good proven surgeon whether it's strip or FUE!...

 

Gillenator, this is a great post. I am going to link to this for another guy, who was about to make the possible mistake of getting FUE done for a discount price by a doc who is learning to use the ARTAS robot.. he has been on the fence on whether to cancel the procedure.. he finally decided to cancel (by advice of guys on HTN) but he still has a nagging in the back of his mind whether he has made the right decision. I think he will be more confident that canceling with a doc that is just learning is the right move, after reading your post.

 

Thank you for your input and sharing your experience with us.

[gillenator]

Paulygon,

 

Trust me my friend, you are giving him "sound advice"...

[boricoticomx]

Hello to all.

 

I'm 10 days Post HT with one of the two best Dr's in Turkey and I'm afraid I'm experiencing sort of the same. I feel the burning and sharp pain. Finally I took some pictures today and I see my scalp is irritated and with pimples. It's been very difficult to sleep over my back these days.

 

Recipient area is totally fine. I had 1500 FUE and the grafts were extracted with motorized tool.

[Badboi]

Who was your doctor? Have you been in touch with your clinic?

[boricoticomx]

Actually those were the first two photos I took from my donor since the HT and I've just sent them to Him.

[gillenator]

I remember you from another hair loss forum and did a post on your thread yesterday.

 

But for the benefit of other surfers of this community, just wanted to comment on a couple of things.

 

It appears that your donor zone density is low and it's hard to tell from the pics how confined the extractions were in surface area. I think you said that you had roughly 1500 extractions?

 

The spots almost appear as folliculitis but it's hard to tell from photos so it's good to read that you are contacting your surgeon.

[boricoticomx]

Yes gillenator, thank you again for your response. As you said it, for the benefit of the community I'm going to post what my Dr. said

 

"Please wash your donor area with toot brush ı know it is painful but you will see after one week. There might be broken graft while extracting so they want to re grow but they stack under your tissue and it makes pimple."

 

Well, no results since saturday so I'm going to see a dermatologist.

 

P.S. Yes, they were 1506 grafts.

[gillenator]

You're welcome my friend. Listen, IMHO this is not good what your doctor is telling you. A "broken graft while extracting" is called transection and for the most part, is permanent damage to the FUs underneath the surface. And telling you that the grafts will "stack under your tissue" means that the graft tissue that was not removed is "dead tissue" and will dry out and contract, and even decompose. Trust me, it's not good to have dead tissue in the scalp. It's called necrosis in general terms.

 

Now, I am not a surgeon but I can tell you that leaving those dead grafts in your scalp is totally absurd IMHO. They should have been removed IMHO. And this may be in part why a potential infection could now be brewing. And then instructing you to scrub the area with a toothbrush?! Really?

 

A couple of clarifications. First, I recommended the dermatologist strictly for the possibility that there is an infection or folliculitis going on in the extraction area. Yet chances are, the derm won't be very helpful in evaluating any transected grafts unless they have experience in the surgical hair restoration field, especially FUE work. Quite simply, the HT field is an area of specialization and an extremely high percent of derms have no formal training in it. So that's like having an auto mechanic performing brain surgery... no offense.

 

You definitely want to have a reputable FUE surgeon with proven skills and the results to back their work to examine what happened. I wish for you is that you get a competent HT FUE surgeon evaluate what was done. Are you in Europe? Get an totally separate independent opinion form a different proven FUE surgeon. You don't want to have necrosis permeating into the other areas of your scalp tissue.

 

IMHO, your pics appear to show a beginner's work with FUE...:rolleyes:

 

Keep in mind I am judging this all by photos yet I have seen enough FUE work over the years both good and bad. And it's not that I am trying to slam your doctors either.

 

For the life in me I can't help but speak the truth in what I see in this field. It's in your best interest and others so I sincerely hope I am totally wrong but remember, even your surgeon in so many words confirmed this was transection. The real question now is, "How bad is it?"

 

Best wishes to you Boricoticomx and I mean that as sincerely as I can state it.

[boricoticomx]

No. I'm from Miami and traveled to Turkey. I was doing a lot of research work for 4 years and decided to do my HT with Dr. Doganay, so seeing Him in person would be not possible, but I'm sure He can see me on video conference.

 

I hope it's not transection what really have, because the pimples are a lot and also He uses a micro motor, I'm not well versed in the topic but I would think transection is mostly possible in manual punching?

 

I have appointment to see a dermatologist next week but I keep in touch with Dr Doganay's representative.

[london81]

I had the most horrendous pain in my donor post FUE. It was excruciating! I had no pain at all then at day 5/6.... BANG! It was worse at night and went away around day 12/13. It was the most agonising pain I've ever had. Another couple of guys who were at my clinic also got the bad pain. Ibuprofen sure came in handy although only took the edge off! I think it's more common than people make out. The good news is that is only generally lasts up to 2 weeks with the odd 'tingle' now and again after that.

[spitfire uk]

Worrying , thats a rare bad mark against Dr Hakan.....and exactly why i prefer Manual punch.

[PupDaddy]

"Please wash your donor area with toot brush ı know it is painful but you will see after one week. There might be broken graft while extracting so they want to re grow but they stack under your tissue and it makes pimple."

 

 

Hi boricoticomx,

 

I think Dr. Doganay meant to say "stuck" instead of "stack," i.e., Some follicular units were partially transected during the extraction phase (it happens during any FUE procedure), and the remnant left behind is trying to grow but is STUCK beneath the skin and causing a pimple.

 

Transection of follicular units happens during FUE procedures, whether a micro-motor (handheld motorized) punch or a manual punch is used. It is unavoidable. There are no studies establishing that motorized punches in general, or any particular brand/kind of motorized punch (there are a number of different ones on the market), results in more or less transections than manual punches during FUE in the hands of the same operator. Some have theorized that some motorized punches can damage follicular units in ways besides transection (e.g. heat, vibration), but that has not been scientifically verified either and isn't related to your pimple situation in any event.

 

Anyway, I hope that your pimples clear up quickly and you have a terrific result from your transplant. Good luck, and please keep us posted.

[tyro]

Hi Guys, I am also on day 6 post my FUE, since yesterday Day 5, I am also feeling same symptoms of burning and pain in donor area. I went to see my surgery clinic, who advised that it is pRt of healing process and should not last very long. They said it varies people to people that how long it takes to heal. They have given me something to spray on donor area when I feel burning. It helps in short term.

 

Last night I couldn't sleep as pain, stiffness and burning made me very easy, I took ibuprofen which seem to help for short time.

 

I am worried about those comments about punch size and the depth is punch,

Could any of this be permanent symptoms or damage. Is anyone aware of any long term side affects of FUE.

 

I also feel strong pain in my legs ( which is like a sensation or I would say weakness) specially when I have burning sensation in my donor area.