Regular Member FUEgetaboutit Posted January 31, 2021 Regular Member Share Posted January 31, 2021 I'm nearing the 10 day post-op mark since my strip surgery, so I'm about ready to get my sutures removed. However, I live about 4 hours by car from the clinic where I got my procedure. What's more, the weather this week isn't looking so great, so I'd prefer not to go on such a long trip. Not to mention the fact that I'd have to take time off from work or get a hotel for a night (if I did suture removal on Saturday). I've considered just going to urgent care locally to have the sutures removed. However, I'd somewhat prefer to have them remove the sutures at the clinic, just so they can give my grafts a quick look to check that they're doing okay. My HT doctor would not have time to take a look at my grafts, but his staff would still have some insight. I don't have any reason to believe that a large number of grafts failed or that anything else is off, but a quick verification that things are going well would give me some peace of mind. I've also considered suture removal at urgent care as well as a referral to a dermatologist to check my results. Thoughts? Should I make the trip, or is it really not worth it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Britanium Posted January 31, 2021 Senior Member Share Posted January 31, 2021 Entirely your choice. But both FUTs I have had and a subsequent revision I have always gone to my Drs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Melvin- Admin Posted January 31, 2021 Administrators Share Posted January 31, 2021 It depends how far your doctor is, some people have their local gp remove the sutures. Not a big deal, but if you’re relatively close i.e 60 miles. I’d rather go to the surgeon. I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice. Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey: View my thread Topical dutasteride journey Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog. Follow our Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and YouTube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member FUEgetaboutit Posted January 31, 2021 Author Regular Member Share Posted January 31, 2021 2 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said: Entirely your choice. But both FUTs I have had and a subsequent revision I have always gone to my Drs. Do you think your doctors gave you any good insight about how things were coming along when they saw you? Or did they not have that much to say about your results? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Britanium Posted January 31, 2021 Senior Member Share Posted January 31, 2021 1 minute ago, FUEgetaboutit said: Do you think your doctors gave you any good insight about how things were coming along when they saw you? Or did they not have that much to say about your results? Nothing was really mentioned. Just how clean everything was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Britanium Posted January 31, 2021 Senior Member Share Posted January 31, 2021 For me though we are talking within a 20 mile radius ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member FUEgetaboutit Posted January 31, 2021 Author Regular Member Share Posted January 31, 2021 1 minute ago, Melvin-Moderator said: It depends how far your doctor is, some people have their local gp remove the sutures. Not a big deal, but if you’re relatively close i.e 60 miles. I’d rather go to the surgeon. If my doctor were within 100 miles, I'd go to him for suture removal, no questions asked. Unfortunately, my clinic is 250 miles away. It's not so much that I don't trust a local GP to remove the sutures. My big question is whether the clinic will likely have any useful insight for me regarding how my grafts are doing. I'm leaning towards going local. I mean, if some grafts got screwed up... what is there to be done other than to make me aware of it? It's nice to know, but I don't know if it's useful knowledge at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member FUEgetaboutit Posted January 31, 2021 Author Regular Member Share Posted January 31, 2021 4 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said: For me though we are talking within a 20 mile radius ! Damn, that's lucky! I'm stuck out here in the boonies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member voxman Posted January 31, 2021 Senior Member Share Posted January 31, 2021 What would a local GP do if you did have some screwed up grafts? Very little. On the other hand he can tell you how the strip is healing and how it generally looks. I'm serious. Just look at my face. My Hair Regimen: Lather, Rinse, Repeat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Britanium Posted January 31, 2021 Senior Member Share Posted January 31, 2021 I’m in the Uk near London, everything is local 🙂 a Dr or Nurse will have no probs letting you know how the FUT is doing and how well it was done. Your right, nothing much can be gained info wise from the Clinic or Dr who performed your ht. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member FUEgetaboutit Posted January 31, 2021 Author Regular Member Share Posted January 31, 2021 (edited) 6 minutes ago, voxman said: What would a local GP do if you did have some screwed up grafts? Very little. On the other hand he can tell you how the strip is healing and how it generally looks. True, but would a local GP even have an eye for judging transplanted graft quality? I doubt it. I'm starting to question, though, what even the clinic would do if I had any screwed-up grafts. I assume it would be a big, fat nothing. Otherwise, what could they do? (I'm talking placement and whether or not grafts have taken. Of course, any old doctor could spot infections, etc.) Edited January 31, 2021 by FUEgetaboutit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Britanium Posted January 31, 2021 Senior Member Share Posted January 31, 2021 2 minutes ago, FUEgetaboutit said: True, but would a local GP even have an eye for judging transplanted graft quality? I doubt it. I'm starting to question, though, what even the clinic would do if I had any screwed-up grafts. I assume it would be a big, fat nothing. Otherwise, what could they do? Not for the grafts no. Just for how the FUT is healing, and how well it was done. As you probably know after 10 day plus your grafts are all firmly anchored. If you posted pics on here the members could see how your doing ? How are you healing ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member FUEgetaboutit Posted January 31, 2021 Author Regular Member Share Posted January 31, 2021 Just now, JohnAC71 said: Not for the grafts no. Just for how the FUT is healing, and how well it was done. As you probably know after 10 day plus your grafts are all firmly anchored. If you posted pics on here the members could see how your doing ? How are you healing ? Yessir, I've been waiting for that 10 day mark. I'm sick of sleeping with mittens on to prevent involuntary scratching in my sleep. lol. I think I'm healing just fine. There don't appear to be any persistent scabs or anything that seems particularly nasty. All but a handful of the hair shafts have remained in place, and I've experienced no bleeding anywhere post-op. Still, I figure it could be helpful to get a professional, trained eye to take a look at things. Is it worth a day of PTO, 60 bucks in gas and the overall headache, though? I think I'm leaning toward no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Melvin- Admin Posted January 31, 2021 Administrators Share Posted January 31, 2021 2 hours ago, FUEgetaboutit said: If my doctor were within 100 miles, I'd go to him for suture removal, no questions asked. Unfortunately, my clinic is 250 miles away. It's not so much that I don't trust a local GP to remove the sutures. My big question is whether the clinic will likely have any useful insight for me regarding how my grafts are doing. I'm leaning towards going local. I mean, if some grafts got screwed up... what is there to be done other than to make me aware of it? It's nice to know, but I don't know if it's useful knowledge at all. That’s not that far, I’d definitely go to the surgeon, it’s within driving distance. Plus, they can give you insight on your healing. I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice. Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey: View my thread Topical dutasteride journey Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog. Follow our Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and YouTube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member FUEgetaboutit Posted February 20, 2021 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 20, 2021 Update on this one, if anyone is curious. I followed Melvin's advice and did end up making the trip. It was an all day thing, but I feel it was definitely worth it. The surgeon himself didn't remove the stitches, but it was a tech who's had some tenure at the office. She provided some assurance about the scar and the state of the grafts, and she was able to answer all the questions I had with a good amount of confidence. Unless it's really going to put you out and you feel you can swing the trip, I highly recommend going with stitch removal with your surgeon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Britanium Posted February 20, 2021 Senior Member Share Posted February 20, 2021 Just now, FUEgetaboutit said: Update on this one, if anyone is curious. I followed Melvin's advice and did end up making the trip. It was an all day thing, but I feel it was definitely worth it. The surgeon himself didn't remove the stitches, but it was a tech who's had some tenure at the office. She provided some assurance about the scar and the state of the grafts, and she was able to answer all the questions I had with a good amount of confidence. Unless it's really going to put you out and you feel you can swing the trip, I highly recommend going with stitch removal with your surgeon. Thanks for the update 🙏 nice to hear they gave good after care 👏 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now