Any Advice or Tips for Those Planning on Traveling for Their Hair Transplant?

[Balding Bad]

Hi y'all -- I'm pretty brand spankin' new to this forum, so apologies if this is a newb question or has been asked before.

Anyways I currently live on the East Coast of the US and I'm seriously considering getting my first FUE operation with Shapiro Medical Group, which is in Minnesota. (Shoutout to @hybonixand his thread for inspiring me to finally do it and to sign up for this forum!).

I'm just curious if there are any rules when it comes to traveling for these procedures/surgeries.

I ideally would like to go and get the operation and be in and out of Minnesota as quick as possible. I feel like the minimum amount of days required would definitely be around 2-3, as I'd imagine there would probably be a check-up the very next day with the doctor, but what I ideally want to avoid is anything more than 5 days and beyond. Does that seem realistic?

Also, the other factor that I'm considering is the travel aspect. I would have no issues flying into Minnesota, but the idea of going to the airport a few days after the operation and not being able to wear a hat and then having to walk through the airport and other public spaces looking like a butchered goon doesn't seem too appealing to me. In this day of social media, I would hate to get filmed or something because I look like some freak show or something and then go viral! Maybe I'm overthinking it, but, hey, I'm a hair loss forum, soooo....

An idea I had to avoid the airport situation would be to drive back. I looked it up on Google Maps and it would take about 20 hours to drive from Minnesota back to my home state. Does that seem like it might be dangerous for someone to do, especially after undergoing a pretty physically traumatic procedure? I obviously wouldn't plan on driving the entire 20 hours straight, but break it up into 2 days...but still, does this seem like a good or bad idea?

Anyways, any tips/tricks you fine folks can give on travel and post-surgery would be greatly appreciated! 😁 

[BDK081522]

I've traveled for 3 FUE surgeries. Two of them only an hour flight and one across the country. Firstly, I would say you need a minimum of 3 days. Fly in the day before, surgery day and at least one more day for first day post-op checkup. I always had a checkup the morning after and flew out the following afternoon. This worked well for me for a few reasons. For one, swelling hasn't fully set in yet (usually days 2-4 are worst swelling). In addition, you can wear a very loose fitting hat (or surgical cap) in the airport. You really only have to take it off once when going through TSA. As long as you're gentle and it is not tight it's generally not an issue. I would definitely recommend flying instead of driving. You're still going to feel "OFF" or dopey from the valium the next day and when the anesthesia wears off there's some pain. You honestly don't start feeling somewhat normal until about 1 week post op so I wouldn't want to drive that far feeling crummy. Also, the sooner you get back home and start your spraying and Neosporin the better. Lastly, and probably most importantly, nobody cares about what you will look like in the airport. Trust me, everyone is way too caught up in their own business to care what some random dude in an airport that they will never see again looks like. You may get an odd look from the TSA agent but it's only a moment in time and they might even be curious about the procedure. 

[Balding Bad]

6 hours ago, BDK081522 said:

I've traveled for 3 FUE surgeries. Two of them only an hour flight and one across the country. Firstly, I would say you need a minimum of 3 days. Fly in the day before, surgery day and at least one more day for first day post-op checkup. I always had a checkup the morning after and flew out the following afternoon. This worked well for me for a few reasons. For one, swelling hasn't fully set in yet (usually days 2-4 are worst swelling). In addition, you can wear a very loose fitting hat (or surgical cap) in the airport. You really only have to take it off once when going through TSA. As long as you're gentle and it is not tight it's generally not an issue. I would definitely recommend flying instead of driving. You're still going to feel "OFF" or dopey from the valium the next day and when the anesthesia wears off there's some pain. You honestly don't start feeling somewhat normal until about 1 week post op so I wouldn't want to drive that far feeling crummy. Also, the sooner you get back home and start your spraying and Neosporin the better. Lastly, and probably most importantly, nobody cares about what you will look like in the airport. Trust me, everyone is way too caught up in their own business to care what some random dude in an airport that they will never see again looks like. You may get an odd look from the TSA agent but it's only a moment in time and they might even be curious about the procedure. 

Great feedback! Really appreciate it.

That honestly sounds like what I will do then. I'll probably look into getting TSA pre-check so I can waltz right through security without needing to take any headgear off. And I guess with these COVID times I can get away with just keeping my mask on and wearing dark sunglasses...no one will know who I am! Haha.

Anyways thanks again for this detailed breakdown of your own experience. It gives me confidence that the post-op travel won't be that bad...although my flight would be close to 5 hours...ugh.

[Fue3361]

I’d take 3 days.  Get a comfortable neck pillow for sleeping.  
 

As for driving... hell no...  Apart from not a good idea for safety reasons... do you really want to stress your body with 20 hours of driving right after surgery; during the most critical first few days of recovery?

 

Just wear sunglasses. That + covid mask, even your friends won’t recognize you.  I wouldn’t do the whole hat, there are always risks of potentially doing damage, but that’s just me.

[Al - Moderator]

There are a number of very good Drs on the US East coast that you can look into if you don't really want to fly.

https://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/Consult-a-Physician/hair-transplant-surgeons.asp?sr=HRN

 

[needmyhairback]

@Balding Bad may I ask why you don't consider NYC doctors like True Dorin? It would be much easier for you to drive there.

[Balding Bad]

3 hours ago, needmyhairback said:

@Balding Bad may I ask why you don't consider NYC doctors like True Dorin? It would be much easier for you to drive there.

I'm not knocking on them, but I wasn't too impressed with what I saw. Moreover, if memory serves me correctly, there also aren't too many recent results to go off of on this site, so that was another factor.