5 days post op......... It looks a mess but fingers crossed

[TheBigM]

Hi Guys, I'm new to the group. I've already read so much helpful advice so thanks already.

I've had 4000 grafts 5 days ago and due to generally been one for bleeding well and sensitive skin etc, I half expected a scabby recovery process.

I was worried at first about the cracks that have formed. But unless anyone tells me other wise, much of that is due to the stretching and scabbing and will soon recover?

My scabs are that bad, I cant actually see any hairs or grafts. Intrigued.

I've been advised to light pat with shampoo and light rinse until day 12 where I should then shower normally and encourage the scabbing to come off. However, surely the scabs aren't a bad thing and shouldn't be rushed?

Part of me wants them gone as the abuse/banter I'm getting at work is brutel. My friend had his done at the same time and his looks much better.

Anyway, day 5.... should I be worried guys?

Thanks in advance.

[Britanium]

The million dollar question…. Who was the clinic ? 🤨 Do you have the pre and post op pics ? The scabbing is quite heavy, did you bleed a lot during the procedure ? 

[Melvin- Admin]

Have you cleaned the area at all? Looks like you haven't been cleaning very well. 

 

 

[HappyMan2021]

5 minutes ago, J.A.C said:

The million dollar question…. Who was the clinic ? 🤨

agree. impossible to truly give any type of substantiated opinion this early on w/o knowing the clinic. 

That being said - it looks like the frontal-mid is lacking a lot of density. 

Also, there will be a smallish gap in the crown area (this is totally fine if perhaps the doctor did not intend to fill in the crown all the way - some doctors are very conservative with the crown. If you wanted the crown completely fixed then this is an issue)

This is a very very crusty transplant. I'm not sure crustiness indicates good or poor work at face value. It could have been outstanding work and your body just naturally responded with a huge buildup of crust? or it could have been less than perfect work and the crust indicates this. Too soon to tell. 

Edited May 4, 2022 by HappyMan2021

[TheBigM]

36 minutes ago, J.A.C said:

The million dollar question…. Who was the clinic ? 🤨 Do you have the pre and post op pics ? The scabbing is quite heavy, did you bleed a lot during the procedure ? 

I have pre and post Op pictures which I'll try to share. Unfortunately, yes, I bleed a lot. I always do. Generally my skin is very sensitive.

 

Edited May 4, 2022 by TheBigM

[TheBigM]

22 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

Have you cleaned the area at all? Looks like you haven't been cleaning very well. 

 

 

Thanks for the update.

 

I've been cleaning it daily but have applied zero pressure to the area nor have i encouraged the scabs to come off etc. I have also given the area 20-30 minutes soaking time.

I've simply rinsed the area once soaked, applied and patted shampoo then rinsed. Do you feel more effort to remove the scabs should be made?

@Melvin- ModeratorThat video is really helpful. However, when you talk about having scabs etc, you made reference to grafts being there for 9 days, then something about 7 days....... can you confirm what that means please?

I'm clearly now concerned that I shouldn't have this amount of scabbing but nor does it surprise me due to how my body normally heals. I'm normally the kind of guy or takes a few days extra to recovery from anything.

Edited May 5, 2022 by TheBigM

[Britanium]

Thanks 🙏 And the Dr/Clinic was ? 

[RTC]

Who was the clinic? As far as I know, scabbing is not indicative of any particular outcome either way, I could be wrong

[TheBigM]

40 minutes ago, HappyMan2021 said:

agree. impossible to truly give any type of substantiated opinion this early on w/o knowing the clinic. 

That being said - it looks like the frontal-mid is lacking a lot of density. 

Also, there will be a smallish gap in the crown area (this is totally fine if perhaps the doctor did not intend to fill in the crown all the way - some doctors are very conservative with the crown. If you wanted the crown completely fixed then this is an issue)

This is a very very crusty transplant. I'm not sure crustiness indicates good or poor work at face value. It could have been outstanding work and your body just naturally responded with a huge buildup of crust? or it could have been less than perfect work and the crust indicates this. Too soon to tell. 

The crown was never a concern or objective. The area needed was the receding areas.

My new main concern now is the built up of crust/scabbing and, if at tall how I can improve how to clean the area.  Although it's day 6 tomorrow, can i carefully attempt to add a little pressure/soaking to assist the scabs or will this remove/damage follicles.

Unfortunately, I came here for reassurance but now feel more concerned than I did 1hr ago.

I was always told to leave the scabs until Day 12.

Edited May 4, 2022 by TheBigM

[TheBigM]

42 minutes ago, J.A.C said:

Thanks 🙏 And the Dr/Clinic 

Clinic Centre

Edited May 4, 2022 by TheBigM

[Britanium]

Most clinics/Drs offer slightly different after care instructions, did they provide you with these? 

[TheBigM]

Yes.......... slight washing for 12 days with no attempts to remove scabbing. Problem is, I feel my scabbing is worse than it should be.

Different places/please seem to offer different opinions/advice.

[Britanium]

Links are not allowed here, but ok so it was Cliniccenter Uk 

[TheBigM]

Sorry..... new so not sure on the rules. But as people kept asking.... I posted.

No, istanbal...... offered a good service in all honestly.

[Britanium]

Just now, TheBigM said:

Yes.......... slight washing for 12 days with no attempts to remove scabbing. Problem is, I feel my scabbing is worse than it should be.

Different places/please seem to offer different opinions/advice.

And that’s just it, one of my procedures I had heavier scabbing than usual, and they did fall off within a couple of weeks. I don’t disagree with the clinics advice here. 

[Britanium]

Just now, TheBigM said:

Sorry..... new so not sure on the rules. But as people kept asking.... I posted.

No, istanbal...... offered a good service in all honestly.

Yeh it’s fine to mention but not as a link, was it a tech driven procedure? Or did the Dr do the incisions? 

[TheBigM]

3 minutes ago, J.A.C said:

Yeh it’s fine to mention but not as a link, was it a tech driven procedure? Or did the Dr do the incisions? 

Ok..... Ive amended. Dr was there all the time. So where 2 others. Plus a rep due to poor English..... or should I say me speaking poor Turkish.

[Britanium]

Going back to what you originally mentioned… No I wouldn’t be worried, some people seem to scab more than others. It’s very early days, I’m pretty sure by following the pre op instructions given you will see the scabs start to fall over the next week or so.. Melvins video will help too ! It’s the one i always try and link. It’s just important to keep it as clean as possible 👍🏽 

Edited May 4, 2022 by J.A.C

[TheBigM]

8 minutes ago, J.A.C said:

Melvins video will help too ! It’s the one i always try and link. It’s just important to keep it as clean as possible 👍🏽 

I did ask Melvin just to confirm one element of the video but yeah, seems a helpful link. Just dont want rub at tall really but the video suggests it may be safe.

Vitamin E and Coca Butter cream will all help assist with the softening I guess and help recovery.

[HappyMan2021]

Be very careful about scrubbing away the crust. You are only on Day 5, and it takes 10 days for grafts to be fully secure. 

I would really just ask the clinic and doctor himself what to do. 

You say you have super sensitive skin, so post op advice for you might be different than someone with non-sensitive skin. 

[John1991]

The downside of the scabs lasting longer than you'd like is that it's unsightly, but the downside of the scabs being ripped off or dislodged too early is that you could lose grafts doing so.  By about days 7-8, there absolutely should be no problem with lightly rubbing shampoo into the area.  After a couple of days of that, you'll likely find the scabs coming off naturally (without even noticing it as they do - no blood, pain, etc.).  Around day 9-12, rubbing more vigorously is fine, just don't pick the scabs or use your fingernails while massaging the shampoo into your hair.  The time frames you hear about scabbing (and everything else) aren't hard and fast.  Scabbing is dependent not only on your individual physiology, but on how densely packed the grafts were.  For instance, 3000 grafts packed densely into the hairline only will almost certainly cause more scabbing than will that number of grafts placed over a much larger area.  

Separately, it is a bit hard to judge what we're seeing without a photo of you before the procedure to see what your level of loss is.  That helps assess whether the graft placement was dense enough.  That said, there doesn't appear to be anything remotely approaching infection or anything problematic, so it seems you have nothing to worry about.

Edited May 5, 2022 by John1991

[Al - Moderator]

If you know you normally bleed a lot then I wouldn't worry too much about having scabs longer and not looking as clean as some other guys at the same number of days post op. Easy bleeders are going to have more of a possibility of the grafts bleeding for a few days and thus the area looking more of a mess for a longer time and thus the scabs taking longer to dry out and come off. Just take your time. When the scabs look like they are dark and drying out then that's when you should start attempting to rub them off.

 

[Ryan Daniel]

I have a feeling the clinic weren't using saline spray while working on you, and didn't provide you with a spray bottle to spray it later. 

 

[TheBigM]

1 hour ago, Ryan Daniel said:

I have a feeling the clinic weren't using saline spray while working on you, and didn't provide you with a spray bottle to spray it later. 

 

Cheers Ryan. They were 100% using saline spray through out the procedure. In fact, I don't recall a minute that went by when implanting them not using it. Constantly using it due to the bleeding.

You are right now, certainly didn't a bottle to spray later.

Edited May 5, 2022 by TheBigM

[TheBigM]

12 hours ago, John1991 said:

The downside of the scabs lasting longer than you'd like is that it's unsightly, but the downside of the scabs being ripped off or dislodged too early is that you could lose grafts doing so.  By about days 7-8, there absolutely should be no problem with lightly rubbing shampoo into the area.  After a couple of days of that, you'll likely find the scabs coming off naturally (without even noticing it as they do - no blood, pain, etc.).  Around day 9-12, rubbing more vigorously is fine, just don't pick the scabs or use your fingernails while massaging the shampoo into your hair.  The time frames you hear about scabbing (and everything else) aren't hard and fast.  Scabbing is dependent not only on your individual physiology, but on how densely packed the grafts were.  For instance, 3000 grafts packed densely into the hairline only will almost certainly cause more scabbing than will that number of grafts placed over a much larger area.  

Separately, it is a bit hard to judge what we're seeing without a photo of you before the procedure to see what your level of loss is.  That helps assess whether the graft placement was dense enough.  That said, there doesn't appear to be anything remotely approaching infection or anything problematic, so it seems you have nothing to worry about.

You are right........ I can't compare to others unfortunately. I am best to leave then and no doubt, my body (the way it is) is best suited by leaving the scabs for the recommended duration or maybe longer if needed.

My skins is so sensitive. Burns easily for example.

Pre-op photo for your information. 3700 grafts. Most of which are in my receding lines so quite impacted.

Edited May 5, 2022 by TheBigM