3 weeks post op, Donor area still looks pretty bad

[bcl124]

Hey everyone, recently had a 700 graft FUE procedure done at a pretty reputable clinic in NY, however, like the title says.. this is now 3 weeks post OP and the donor area still looks pretty bad. after a quick Google search every other result that popped up claimed the donor area should go back to normal after 5 or so days. just wondering if this is normal or not. 

Obviously I have reached out to the clinic that worked on me before coming here and am awaiting their response, but in the meantime I figured I'd see if I can get anyone here who's had experience with FUE to weight in on it for me.

I'm gonna wait it out and see if it'll heal more.. but 3 weeks post op is definitely starting to get to the point where the worry sets in. 

[follically challenged]

What do you mean, 'go back to normal'? You realise that those follicles taken will not return, right?

Overall the donor area looks good in my opinion

[Melvin- Admin]

The donor takes months to heal, there is shock loss that can occur. Give it time.

[aaron1234]

Do you have immediate post-op pics to compare with where you are now?  

[pkipling]

I agree that it doesn't look as healed as most people at this stage, but it is still a little early. Have you reached out to the clinic for their input/explanation? Given that it was only 700 grafts makes it even more odd to me. The good news is that once your hair grows back in, it'll disguise most of that anyway, so hopefully it'll eventually be a non-issue and resolve itself. 

[Yoo]

Have you buzzed/shaved the donor area since the transplant? The native hair looks short for 3 weeks? If you have, maybe that’s aggravating the wounds.

[Al - Moderator]

It looks like you are buzzing the area and irritating it. You need to leave it alone for a week or two.

 

 

[bcl124]

On 7/1/2021 at 11:17 PM, pkipling said:

I agree that it doesn't look as healed as most people at this stage, but it is still a little early. Have you reached out to the clinic for their input/explanation? Given that it was only 700 grafts makes it even more odd to me. The good news is that once your hair grows back in, it'll disguise most of that anyway, so hopefully it'll eventually be a non-issue and resolve itself. 

it seems like the general consensus is that after an FUE you're expected to let the hair grow to mask the scars .. 

 

i always shave the back of my head (high skin fade) and honestly believed that a 700 graft FUE would be minimally evasive enough to still be able to keep the back of my head shaved.

 

I'm reaching the 4th week post surgery in a couple days now and it's still red , still slightly tender, and (what really concerns me) is the little "holes" that are still there ...  however, I have been buzzing it so maybe that was irritating it more like other posters have said.  I sent that picture to my surgeon and he assured me this was normal and fine.  I'm going to remain patient and wait another 2-3 weeks (without buzzing it) before I really start to raise more concern ... 

Edited July 6, 2021 by bcl124

[Kharmacoma]

There is no way your donor can look bad with 700 punches unless it was the first procedure your doc performed in his life. 

[Al - Moderator]

18 hours ago, bcl124 said:

always shave the back of my head (high skin fade) and honestly believed that a 700 graft FUE would be minimally evasive enough to still be able to keep the back of my head shaved.

 

You can probably do that, but you needed to let it heal more first. I really think most of your issue is you started buzzing/shaving it too soon. It's like when you have a cut and the scab starts forming and you pick the scab off too soon and you start bleeding where the scab was. This could be sort of the same thing. Leave it alone for a little while and see if it looks like it's improving.

Edited July 6, 2021 by BeHappy

[BLE123]

Some doctors say not to buzz up until six months, that seems a bit extreme to me but most agree that you should avoid it for at least a month, preferably three.

Not to be rude but you've just had 700 holes punched into your head, you must have known that it's probably a good idea to let them heal first before taking a razor to them. 

[JohnCasper]

Give it time and don't aggravate the area with a razor or trimming.  It will heal.  700 grafts is not many.  Did you do a touch-up job in the frontal area with the 700?  Just curious.

[bcl124]

here's the 3 month update.. still looks pretty bad , still can see the little holes and redness.  I know 3 months is too early to see results but I would've guessed the donor area would be well beyond healed by now.  Just emailed my Dr. and awaiting his input on this

 

though,  it is getting better.. just very slowly so. 

 

[BDK081522]

You had 700 extraction sites punched into your occipital region. Each punch leaves a scar. Depending on tool used and healing characteristics everyone scars differently but there will always be signs of surgery. If you thought you could skin shave your donor without showing any signs of surgery you shouldn't have gotten a hair transplant. Your donor actually doesn't look too bad at all. Just your expectations are a bit off. Your donor at a 1 guard fade should look undetectable. 

[pkipling]

Personally, I think this is looking great - and as mentioned above, it may be worth shifting your expectations a bit about what hairstyles are possible for you moving forward (or at least until some more time passes to see how it ultimately heals). The reality is that you had 700 punctures to the skin, and so the risk of developing tiny little scars is a reality of getting a hair transplant, and it's important for everyone to know beforehand that shaving their hair down to the skin like this may not be a viable option, even with FUE.

All of that said, I had 2,000 grafts over 7 years ago, and my donor looked similar to yours at 3 months. However, with time and with proper care (mainly keeping the donor out of the sun for 6 months to better help it heal), I can now buzz the back/sides of my donor with no guard and not have any signs at all of a hair transplant. I got my haircut 2 weeks ago by a new barber and he was in complete disbelief that I even had any work done, so it's possible... It's just not something that should be expected. 

Hopefully yours continues to improve more to your satisfaction, but I do want to reiterate that I don't think it looks nearly as bad as you think it does - and in all honesty, you could probably get away with it as is and nobody would ever think anything of it. 

[Gokuhairline]

are you applying anything to donor area ? aloe vera, aquaphorm, etc ?

[Kharmacoma]

With only 700 grafts even if I did the extraction it would be impossible to do harm to your donor. 😀

[Gatsby]

Firstly I don't know why you are shaving your donor? I'd leave everything to settle. Secondly it can take up to a year for scars to heal and then they go on continuing for years afterwards. You're worrying about nothing honestly. Happy growing and all the best!

[Melvin- Admin]

5 hours ago, Gatsby said:

Firstly I don't know why you are shaving your donor? I'd leave everything to settle. Secondly it can take up to a year for scars to heal and then they go on continuing for years afterwards. You're worrying about nothing honestly. Happy growing and all the best!

^this, sounds like you didn’t need surgery to begin with if you only needed 700 grafts. Hair Transplants are not scarless. 

[Curious25]

53 minutes ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

^this, sounds like you didn’t need surgery to begin with if you only needed 700 grafts. Hair Transplants are not scarless. 

Not necessarily true at all, it completely depends on the case the patient presents . . . and in this case we have no idea what OP's pre surgery situation was, as he's focused the topic on his donor. For example,  @1978matt had a procedure of around 700 grafts purely for his crown, and the difference it made was night and day. Small, carefully planned procedures are much more fool proof than larger procedures IMO.  

Anyway OP, at 3 months and with a skin fade, despite the shoddy picture quality, your donor looks great to me. 

[bcl124]

appreciate all the replies everyone. 

as for my procedure, had a 700 graft fue done on my frontal band area to address thinning. ever since I was a teenager i was always thin on the corners of my hairline. soon as I hit 30 i feel like it started to get worse. picture of me with headphones is what I looked like pre surgery , then the 2 post surgery pictures showing the grafts, then what it looks like now 3 months post surgery 

 

Dr says everything is looking good/normal and I do have faith in him seeing as he's a reputable doctor whose work speaks for itself,  but of course I can't help but to be impatient and anxious for the final result.. this is obviously something that's very important to me, as I'm sure it is for everyone else on here. 

 

[Britanium]

If I can be honest here .. 350 grafts approx either side isn’t anywhere enough to give you adequate density in the areas we can see. When I zone in on the pics it doesn’t look like enough density even where it has been implanted. Who was the clinic/Dr ?