Post surgery general precautions to avoid infection

[bllorayne]

HI,

how are you guys...i was wondering what precautions should one take after surgery...please give all cautions possible...god bless u all.

[bllorayne]

HI,

how are you guys...i was wondering what precautions should one take after surgery...please give all cautions possible...god bless u all.

[mmhce]

Post Operative Washing:

 

Day 0: (day of hair restoration surgery): Just relax. Do not wash your hair at all.

 

Day 1: If at all possible, visit your hair restoration clinic for a postoperative hair wash. If not, fill a cup with water mixed with shampoo and pour it gently over your head several times. Gently massage the shampoo into the donor area, cleaning the area around the scar.

 

Day 2 and 3: Fill a cup with water mixed with shampoo and pour it gently over your head several times. Gently massage the shampoo into the donor area, cleaning the area around the scar. Wash donor area normally working around the scar with care to work off any dried blood. Apply as much pressure as needed however, avoid using so much pressure that it causes pain.

 

Day 4: Assuming that your shower pressure is reasonable and not too harsh - let the water from the shower head hit your head normally. Massage shampoo in your hands until it lathers. Gently touch the grafts with the shampoo in the palm of your hands and gently touch with your finger tips. Avoid any massaging of the transplanted hair at this point. Continue washing donor area normally from this point on paying extra attention around the scar as to work off any dried blood and keep the area clean.

 

Day 5: Repeat the instructions from day 4 however, add very gentle back and forth motions with your finger tips through the transplanted hair. Avoid using your nails at all costs.

 

Day 6: Resume normal hair washing but be extra gentle with the hair grafts.

 

Day 7+: Begin showering twice a day normally however, use a little extra care of the follicular unit grafts. Spend 10 extra minutes in the shower both in the morning and evening massaging with shampoo the hair grafts in a circular motion with your fingertips in order to start working off the scabs. Avoid using your fingernails at all costs. Do not apply a lot of pressure. The trick is to apply a constant circular motion to gradually work off the scabs rather than simply picking them off. Picking the scabs should be avoided at all costs. Whatever scabs don't come off in the shower will come off after subsequent showers and circular massaging. Additionally, when you come out of the shower and after looking in the mirror see some loose scabs, feel free to perform additional soft circular massaging over the scabs in front of the mirror to work off loose scabs. Scabs still tightly secured to the scalp should not be worked too much. These scabs will come off after subsequent showers in the coming days. Patience is important and don't force anything off.

 

I have found that by using the above method, scabs typically come off between 8-12 days.

 

At 24 hours you take a cup and put shampoo in it put it under the faucet to create foam and pour over the grafted area. The donor area you can wash normally. Rinse the same way. This is the instructions for 7 days. We feel it takers a full 7 days for the grafts to be well seated.

[bllorayne]

thanks....mmhce ...god will bless you ...

[canadian_buba]

Make sure to sleep at a 45 degree angle to prevent swelling, ice your forehead if you do swell, wear zip up shirt so you dont need to lift anything over your head. Rest rest rest!

[Dr. William Lindsey]

MMHCE posted another good bit of advice.

 

I would add that the only better thing you can do to prevent infection is to quit smoking 10 days prior to your procedure and don't restart until the sutures are out.

 

We give 5 days of antibiotics but in an otherwise healthy non-smoker, it is relatively hard to infect the scalp. The excellent blood supply to the scalp really is protective against infection.

 

Dr. Lindsey McLean VA