Second surgery without cutting hair

[TrixGlendevon]

Hi! I am going to get a second surgery after my first with Hattingen. Probably this summer. I have a question though. I spoke to Sever several weeks ago online and he said we could do the surgery without me cutting my hair. I am trying to work out the best way to manage the surgery as I have a high profile job. I can take probably 6-8 weeks off work (probably 6 and not 8 ) by a combination of holidays and working from home. I have a few questions:

1) Do people think there is a risk of an inferior result of doing the surgery without cutting my hair i.e. having to work around the hair I have already in place (all transplant hair at this stage)? People not noticing I have had it done is one thing, but ultimately I am doing this to look better so if there is a risk I won't after, I may bite the bullet and shave my head (or at least cut the hair short). What are people's opinion/experience with this?

2) What are the chances of shock loss with the transplanted hair in my hairline and mid-scalp?

3) Anybody who can offer another strategy to minimise people knowing what has happened?

Thanks

Trix

[MAIZE1694]

31 minutes ago, TrixGlendevon said:

1) Do people think there is a risk of an inferior result of doing the surgery without cutting my hair i.e. having to work around the hair I have already in place (all transplant hair at this stage)? People not noticing I have had it done is one thing, but ultimately I am doing this to look better so if there is a risk I won't after, I may bite the bullet and shave my head (or at least cut the hair short). What are people's opinion/experience with this?

Shaving gives the doctor the most optimal to work in. I think you can understand why. Sure it can be tried without shaven.

2) What are the chances of shock loss with the transplanted hair in my hairline and mid-scalp? 

Shock loss is a very real possibility.

3) Anybody who can offer another strategy to minimise people knowing what has happened? 

It will be impossible. You're getting thousands of holes punched in your head. Even after 6 weeks it will be noticeable, you'll be just entering the ugly duckling phase. 

 

 

[TrixGlendevon]

2 minutes ago, MAIZE1694 said:

 

Depends on the surgeon for the ugly duckling phase. Mine was barely noticeable even immediately after the surgery last time. Feel free to check my post (with photos) about when it was done. Very clean work. My point for question 3 is if I shave it, not just day to day. I have had an FUT before so I know the score. 

Re. Q1: Yeah this is what I thought too but somebody has inboxed me and said that if you have longer hair for the surgery, it allows the surgeon to follow the hair direction etc. My whole hair now, minus the forelock (which is starting to thin and therefore the most likely candidate for shockloss) is transplanted hair. 

[HappyMan2021]

It's objectively easier for the surgeon if you shave your head. That being said, I think its not a significant impact and  I think a surgeon must be sh*tty if your results are affected by shave vs no shave.

I have seen many cases of elite docs doing no shave procedures and they turned out just fine. 

[NARMAK]

I think shaving the donor area down is usually the most common part, but you can depending on the surgeon keep the area closest to the recipient longer.

Personally due to have my procedure in mid May and i'm really wrestling with this idea right now myself due to similar concerns of work and maintaining privacy that i've had a procedure done. 

I also want to give myself the best chance to achieve the better outcome and i've kind of leaned towards talking to the doctor a day before the procedure to plan out the hairline design, take some pictures for my own reference and confirming the graft number. Then asking the doctor whether they feel to deliver the best outcome it might be best to just have me shave the head even though it's a frontal area that's getting transplanted to where there's almost zero hair except the transition zone if you will between the transplant and native hair. 

[TrixGlendevon]

Sensible! I am thinking the same thing. I will speak to Sever and Laura next month and see what they say, but I want my chat with them to be a conversation and not them just telling me stuff. Hence why I wanted to see what other people's experiences are/have been. I have been given some good advice/information in the private messages and this seems to confirm that. It would still be great to hear from other people that have had it done or from doctors though. Can never have too much information!

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

Trix,

Shaving the recipient area makes the area optimal to work on.  That said however, while it is harder and more work for the surgeon, as long as you've selected a well established surgeon and they are comfortable doing it this way, you shouldn't have any problems.

Keep in mind however, that if you are having hair transplanted in between and around natural hair, there is still a risk of shock loss to the natural hair and thus, it may still become obvious at one point that something is going on up there.  I doubt anyone would guess you've gotten a hair transplant just because you may experience a little bit of shock loss.  But just keep in mind that hair transplant surgery is a process and just because the recipient area isn't shaved, it doesn't mean it won't look like something is going on at various stages of healing and growth.

I hope this helps.

Rahal Hair Transplant

[Gatsby]

Personally I would want to make my surgeon’s job as easy as possible for him/her to give me the chance of the best outcome possible. If that means shaving my head then that’s a small price for a lifelong outcome that I have to live with. 

[Mountinvan]

You ask very good questions. I did several procedures without shaving. My hair was long enough to cover up the procedures. I think I got a bit of shock loss, but that was temporary. It amazes me how unobservant most people are. I never had anyone ask me if I had a HT. Some have looked at my hair and got that "something is different" look. Our hair, or lack thereof, matters most to us. If the surgeon is comfortable, I would go with no shave. When hairs are implanted they are implanted, and they will not be able to tell you any difference. Angling might be more difficult, but the surgeon can see better how the hair will lie. So, in the end, there are probably pluses and minuses--but you will great results in the hands of an elite surgeon. I couldn't be happier.