Wound healing

[George Clooney]

I have heard some people here recommend vitamin E and aloe vera and it seems each surgeon has their own specific recommendations.

My dermatologist told me for wound healing (ie. FUT) that the specific ointment didn't matter as much as making sure to keep the area moist at all times with something inert and viscous like vaseline and and a colloid type dressing like duoderm.

For the insertion sites I hear you guys saying you're spraying every 4 hours with saline?

What did you guys do post operatively to promote/speed up wound healing, both for the harvesting and insertion sites?

 

[Smolhouse]

I applied silicone gel to my FUT scar for the first 3 months morning and night.  I also microneedled it once per month after 5 weeks for 4 months.    Kind of pain because I had to keep my hair buzzed with a #1 guard the whole time but I was wearing a hat while my hair was growing in anyways.  

I can't say if it made any difference, but there are a lot of studies demonstrating a positive impact on wound healing from silicone/microneedling and I ended up with a pretty good scar.  

[BDK081522]

Triple antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin to the donor area generously. First 5-7 days saline spray to the recepient as often as you please. It helped soothe the itching for a short period until it dried. After 10 days Aloe vera to the recipient to help with itching and redness. 

[George Clooney]

On 1/21/2022 at 5:01 PM, BDK081522 said:

Triple antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin to the donor area generously. First 5-7 days saline spray to the recepient as often as you please. It helped soothe the itching for a short period until it dried. After 10 days Aloe vera to the recipient to help with itching and redness. 

Thank you for the tips. One small thing -- I've been told not to use Neosporin (as opposed to something inert like Vaseline or petroleum jelly) because the polymyxin has a tendency to cause allergic reactions (contact dermatitis) which would impair wound healing. Dryness is the follicle's enemy.

[BDK081522]

I was informed to use antibiotic ointment on the donor after every transplant. But follow your surgeon's orders.