Advice/Tips on post op care

[marknash99]

I had my surgery two weeks ago, so I'm now going through that stage of worrying if it will take, what the result will be like and wanting to do everything I can to help.

 

So far my routine is this:

 

1mg of Finistride a day

Minoxidil

Follifuel milkshakes

Wash hair daily with baby shampoo, very gently around the new grafts (not rubbing the scalp, just lightly touching the hairs with lather)

No hats, careful with pull over clothes, keeping out of sun, careful not to bang the area or sleep on it.

 

So is thee anything else I can do? Or any of the above I shouldn't be doing? Am I being too careful and I should relax a bit?

 

What I'd love to do is really rub my scalp, I'm at that scabby stage and I'd love to get them out! I did try to pull one gently, but the hair came out or snapped and now worried I've screwed that graft so not doing that again! Although my surgeon did say the hairs could snap or come out and not too wordy, the follicle will remain embedded. Not easy to consider that now though

[pkipling]

I think you should totally relax a bit.

 

At two weeks post-op, you're out of the woods as far as doing any damage to the grafts. The only semi-long term thing you have to worry about in that regard is avoiding direct exposure to sunlight for 6 months. The easiest way to handle this is to wear a hat when you're outside/exposed to the sun.

 

You should always follow your surgeons specific instructions for taking care of your scalp, but it seems to me that it would probably benefit you to be a bit more aggressive with washing your scalp and keeping it clean. The cleaner you keep it, the faster it will heal. I washed the crusts off while taking a hot shower, so that they were soft and easily removed. Then I "gently" washed the area with my fingers in a circular motion until the crusts came off very easily. Your grafts are secure, so don't worry about dislodging them at this point.

 

Also - you will lose the hairs over the course of the next couple of weeks. This is totally normal.

 

It's also worth noting that aside from keeping your scalp clean and free of infection, there's really nothing you can do to speed up the process. Your best bet is to get your scalp clean, then do your best to sit back and forget about it. It will grow when it's ready to grow, and you'll only drive yourself crazy monitoring it on a daily (or hourly) basis.