Hair Restoration Blog

Q:

Dear Dr. Mohebi,

It has been 17 days after my hair transplant at your Encino office.  If you recall, an FUT procedure with bi-lateral trichophytic closure was performed for about 650 grafts to reinforce the front hairline.  First of all, I’d like to thank you for taking the time to professionally and candidly answer all questions I had and ensuring the experience was comfortable and hospitable.  I must say it was a very inviting experience compared to my first session with a different doctor.

I’ve attached 5 snapshots of the graph’s current status at a little more than two weeks out.  I was able to remove all scabs on the grafts and donor site.  Now that I can see the grafts slightly growing although some may have fallen out, I have a couple questions.

• One of the photographs shows a red circle at the peak of the front hairline where the area appears bare and open.  Do you recall planting any grafts at this site?  I was hoping this particular area would be covered due to the apparent nature of the front tip.

• My donor site is still tender, numb, and feels dully painful.  Is this normal after 2 weeks?

• My donor site is very very tight which makes it difficult to look down without some major strain or pulling.  I don’t recall having this problem with my first procedure or at least lasting this long with the intensity of the tension.  Is this due to the bi-lateral trichophytic closure on a previous scarline?  Can you advise on how or when this tension will subside?

I appreciate for your time and effort in advance Dr. Mohebi and have an excellent day!

A:

It is good to hear from you.  I am glad you had a good experience from your hair transplant surgery with us.  You had a donor scar revision procedure to improve the appearance of your donor linear scar in the back of the head with two sided tricophytic closure to grow hair into the scar.  Here is the answers to your questions in the order you asked them.

• One of the photographs shows a red circle at the peak of the front hairline where the area appears bare and open.  Do you recall planting any grafts at this site?  I was hoping this particular area would be covered due to the apparent nature of the front tip. We purposefully make the frontal area irregular so it won’t look linear and unnatural.  You should have lost most if not all of the grafts at this point after your hair transplant so what you can see now is not representing what you will eventually get.  My recommendation is to try to ignore them for at least the next 6 to 8 months so that hairs should all be grown out.

• My donor site is still tender, numb, and feels dully painful.  Is this normal after 2 weeks? Mild inflammation due to the healing process could be present for a few weeks after strip method hair transplant surgery, however, if it doesn’t gradually subside or if it becomes worse we need to see you immediately.

• My donor site is very very tight which makes it difficult to look down without some major strain or pulling.  I don’t recall having this problem with my first procedure or at least lasting this long with the intensity of the tension.  Is this due to the bi-lateral trichophytic closure on a previous scarline?  Can you advise on how or when this tension will subside? More tension might be seen in repeat surgeries due to the prior scarring that was present from before in comparison to performing surgery on a virgin scalp.  You need to avoid bending your head with force for the next two months after surgery while there is a risk of stretching the donor scar.  At month two, if you still have tension you need to see us.  Meanwhile if you have any other concerns regarding your growth or any other issues you can make an appointment to be seen.

I look forward to seeing you in your follow up visits.