Taking care of the scar after FUT

[Messi]

Hello HT Community Members,

I am curious to hear what FUT patients do to take care of their scars (i.e. promote faster healing, minimize redness, etc.) after an FUT procedure.

Has anyone been told NOT to use any topical treatments (i.e. aloe vera, etc.) and basically NOT do anything and just let the scar heal by itself by leaving it alone (and not even gently massaging the area around the scar, etc.)? 

Any and all your suggestions and comments are greatly appreciated. 

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

Messi,

Honestly, the best thing you can do to optimize healing and promote ideal growth is to follow your surgeons postoperative instructions and wait.  There are no medications or solutions that will reduce or eliminate scarring or make the transplanted hair grow faster and thicker.   So as long as you’ve selected a reputable hair transplant surgeon, everything will heal and grow in as it should in 12 to 18 months.

I hope this helps.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant 

[Messi]

Thanks for your response.  Actually, as I mentioned, the doctor said NOT to do anything and just let the scar heal with time.

[AlexMeister21]

I rubbed some ointment given by the clinic for like two weeks after the procedure. I also put Neosporin on the scar, recommended by clinic. Not sure if that helped any as my scar stretched pretty wide and still has redness 11 months post-op.

[HairRun]

4 hours ago, AlexMeister21 said:

I rubbed some ointment given by the clinic for like two weeks after the procedure. I also put Neosporin on the scar, recommended by clinic. Not sure if that helped any as my scar stretched pretty wide and still has redness 11 months post-op.

You had Dr Diep right? I did too and also have a wide scar. One of the surgeons that I consulted with who was pretty familiar with Dr Diep's work said it's a common trait of his work

When I had my procedure done with Dr Shapiro, he asked me if I went back to get my sutures removed, I said I didn't, they just fell out. He said those types of sutures tend to cause inflammation. 

I watched a youtube video on the best scarring treatments by a dermatologist. She said silicone gel has the most research behind it. Hydroulic acid is pretty good too, which is pretty much in all good quality lotions. 

 

Edited October 25, 2022 by HairRun

[Justlikeheaven]

May I ask what made you chose an FUT over an FUE or DHT? I'm considering a FUT with Bicer but also an FUE/DHT elsewhere. Worried about the scar from an FUT but think it yields better results for my loss (7k grafts needed)

[Gregg H]

I had this very same question My scar is very sore I'm much more inclined to help it heal than to do nothing. 

[Steve McQueen]

I have also wondered the same thing. It seems odd that each doctors post op care instructions are so different. Yet like what HairRun said, there is a near consensus agreement of plastic surgeons/dermatologists in post op wound care to minimize scaring to use an ointment of some sort until the is wound healed followed by a silicone scar gel to reduce the scars appearance. But I have seen little to no application of that around here so who knows.