Scab falls off with little blood at 5th day?

[whyohwhy12345]

Hi guys,

So today I am at 5th day post op. This morning I looked into the mirror and picked on 1 or 2 scabs (stupid me I know). They fell off rather easily, no hair, no bulb attached, just the scab itself, with very little blood coming with it.

 

Do you think I may damage the grafts? I know they are only 2 grafts but it is an extremely uneasy feeling for me to damage the grafts myself despite being extra-cautious the last few days.

[Speegs]

Nothing you can do about it now, 2 grafts lost in the grand scheme isn't much, but DO NOT pick any others.

 

This short video is a comprehensive way to address the temptation of scab picking.

 

[Bill - Seemiller]

whyohwhy,

 

Honestly at 5 days post-op, the follicles are pretty well sealed. If you didn't see any blood or hair when you picked off the scab, you are probably fine. That said, it's important that you 1) follow your doctor's postoperative instructions and 2) if the instructions do talk about removing the scabs at a certain point, to do it gently by massaging the scalp with your fingertips in the shower while the scabs are already saturated.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

Why,

 

I agree with Bill's assessment.

 

The grafts are quite well anchored by day 5. I have my patients start gently washing with fingertips at day 4. Many scabs are dislodged during this process, but the grafts stay in place -- as the skin has sealed over and the body has created a make-shift scar around each graft under the skin.

 

Dislodging a graft is a pretty specific and unique phenomenon. I've yet to see one that was not a very distinct trickle of blood coming from one pin-point area and creating a stream that ran down the forehead or sides of the head. You can usually see a graft (looks like a little grain of rice) laying on the scalp as well. If you didn't see this, you probably did not dislodge a graft. Even if you saw a hair come out with a scab or if there was some blood when the scab was dislodged.

 

Hope this helps! Grow well.

[whyohwhy12345]

Tks for your quick and detailed great advices. So I probably didnt damage any graft as there was very little blood (probably some dried blood on the surface of the skin, not under).

 

Also, the post-op care states that I can wash the recipient with baby shampoo from day 7th, and normal shampoo from 10th day. It means that I can start washing and removing scabs from day 7th? What is the good time that I should aim to be 100% scab-free? Because I know keeping the scabs for too long would not be good either.