Post op do's and don'ts???

[skins4life]

what are all the post op do's and don'ts.. how many months or weeks until you can go into the sun, be active at the gym again? After a transplant is it ok to wear a hat around a lot or will this hurt the grafts? how gentle must you be after a transplant? When can you live normally again? .... i kinda wanna know how much time i need to take off for it too... thanks guys

[skins4life]

what are all the post op do's and don'ts.. how many months or weeks until you can go into the sun, be active at the gym again? After a transplant is it ok to wear a hat around a lot or will this hurt the grafts? how gentle must you be after a transplant? When can you live normally again? .... i kinda wanna know how much time i need to take off for it too... thanks guys

[Smoothy]

To answers your questions:

 

YOu should stay out of direct sunlight/tanning beds for at least 3 months (just wear a hat in the sun)

 

YOu can probably start LIGHT excercises about 2 weeks after HT. But for mild to intense excercises/or weight training, you should wait a min of 4 weeks. Your donor scar can stretch up to 3 months, so until then do not do anything that will cause you to strain too much.

Plus avoid excess sweating for at least 6 weeks to keep the recepiant areas sterile/clean/dry.

 

You can wear a hat immediately after HT, but dont wear it too tight-- and for the first few days you might want to pack some medical gouse in the front of the cap to protect the recepiant area.

 

The 10 days you should be pretty gentle with your HT recepiant area (first couple of months in donor area).

 

You probably will be back to your normal routines after a month.

 

To help speed up recovery (not required), I used cytograft which helps to keep your new grafts moist and prevents some from going dormant so the start growing quicker-- (it's a couple hundred dollars though). Also, for the first week or so, keep the grafts moist with saline. Do not rub the scabs, they will naturally come of in the shower in due time.

Also, keep your donor area ice down for the first 5 days.

[hairworthy]

Some good advice here. I'm 3 months post-op & still avoiding the sun. Fortunately, here in the UK, the sun only shows up 5 or 6 days per year. The ideal country to stay outside after an HT... if you like getting wet that is!

[Kez]

That's pretty unfair on your homeland, Hairworthy. As I recall we had wall to wall sunshine this Spring, and last year was the hottest & driest in twenty years. We didn't have the fires that California experienced, but we had comparable levels of drought. This weekend's set fair, and I'd say the climate here is generally comparable to Oregon, which I've known in all four seasons.

[metro]

Instructions ??“ Before Surgery

 

 

Preparation for Surgery

 

Allow your hair to grow at least 1/2 inch at the back and sides of head (this will cover the staples after surgery)

Start to massage the back of your scalp by pushing the skin firmly up and down to help loosen the donor area. Do this as many times daily as you can.

Stop using Rogaine 3 months prior to surgery

 

1 week prior to Surgery

 

Stop the use of Aspirin (ASA), anti-inflammatories (i.e. Advil, Motrin), any vitamins, herbs and supplements (Gingko, Gluscosamine), marijuana and alcohol. Please read all labels on any medications you may need to take, aspirin may be an ingredient.

Tylenol is okay to take

 

 

 

Night before Surgery

 

Get a good nights rest

 

Day of Surgery

 

It is important to have a light breakfast before your hair transplant surgery.

Wear loose fitting comfortable cloths. Please do not wear tight clothing that must be pulled over you head

If sedation is used during surgery, driving is not permitted for 12 hours and you will need to arrange transportation to and from our clinic. **During hair transplant surgery, sedation is rarely used and therefore the patient is able to drive.

 

Instructions ??“ After Surgery

 

 

Rest, sleep or watch television for the remainder of the day. Do not lay or put any pressure on the grafted area.

 

Maintain your normal diet. No aspirin or alcohol for 3 days after surgery.

 

Take antibiotics, pain relieving medications and sleeping pills as directed.

 

Ice forehead with a cold pack (ice bag wrapped in towel) for 20 minutes each hour while awake for the first day. Continue to use ice for 2-3 days if swelling occurs.

 

If unable to return to our office the day after surgery, wait 24 hours to do your first hair wash. Wash hair in shower using a very gentle water flow of luke warm water, not hot water, and gentle hands. To dry your hair you can use a cool air setting on a blow dryer or gently pat with a towel. You must wash your hair everyday, and after day 5 you can start to apply more pressure when washing the scalp. 8 days after surgery, you can gently rub off the loose scabs during your showers.

 

A clean loose fitting cap or hat may be worn.

 

If you have staples they will be removed in 8-10 days, if you have sutures they will be removed in 7 days. Please make an appointment to come back in for your removal at our office, or out-of-town patients may see their own doctor.

Instructions for staple removal (if you are unable to come back to clinic):

 

*To minimize discomfort during your staple removal apply a medium layer of Betacaine Gel to the donor area and rub it in. For best results apply the gel at 1 1/2 hours, 1 hour and ?? hour before your staple removal.

 

Do not scratch sutured area: be careful when combing over grafted area. DO NOT USE A BRUSH.

 

Minimize swelling by: no strenuous activity for 2 days, no swimming for 1 week and no contact sports for 2 weeks. Keep hair clean, be careful not to bump head and avoid getting sunburned.

 

Report any bleeding, swelling, infection, excessive discomfort or temporary hair loss to your doctor. Swelling of the forehead is common, and usually starts on the third day after surgery and can last 3-6 days.

 

 

 

Spotting and occasional light bleeding from the donor area may occur 12 ??“ 14 hours after surgery. Apply firm, constant pressure over the area for 20 minutes. If bleeding occurs from the grafted area (dislodged graft) gently clean of blood and continue to gently clean until bleeding stops. Do not apply pressure to grafted area.

 

Apply thin layer of Bactroban ointment to donor and grafted area two times per day. To apply the Bactroban use a clean finger and smooth it gently on in the same direction as your hair growth.

 

Do not use rubbing alcohol or any styling products containing alcohol on grafted areas for 7 days.

 

For the vast majority of surgeries, no sedation is used. On the rare occasion when sedation is used during surgery, do not operate motor vehicles, boats, machinery or power tools until the following day.

 

The transplanted hair shaft will fall out 2-4 weeks after surgery, this is normal. You still retain the live follicle that lies dormant and starts to grow within 4-5 months.

 

Four months after surgery, continue scalp-lifting exercises to loosen donor scar.

 

Regular use of vitamin B complex (2 tablets daily) and vitamin E (1 tablet daily) will help to maintain hair quality and facilitate nerve regeneration in the grafted area and above the incision line.

[joachim]

Metro, could you please motivate the stop of using rogaine 3 months prior operation.

[Smoothy]

Excellent summary for those HT patients pre-post op. Nicely done.

 

The only thing I would add, is to take propecia before and stay on it through/after surgery to help the new FU's. Talk to your doctor, but many like to use Graftcyte after surgery- it helps the grafts from going dormant and speeds up the healing process with the "scabs"-- I've had great experience with this-- some docs provide it-- I had to buy it when I had my HT.

Also, some docs advice Neosporin in donor area, and Mecoderm (or something like that which helps reduce scarring-- its over the counter).

Add Zinc to your vitamin C, E, and B after surgery (not before) to help cell regeneration.

[Smoothy]

I think there is a great bullet point list that PAt or Joetronic posted on this site for pre-post op info-- But I can not find it???