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Follicular Unit Hair Transplantation Repairing a Bad Hair Transplant What to Expect Before, During, and After a Hair Transplant |
What to Expect Before, During, and After a Hair Transplant Before the Hair Transplant Consult
You will want to educate yourself thoroughly about hair transplants. We strongly believe that 100% follicular unit hair transplantation after microscopic dissection is the best method of hair transplantation, but we want you to understand why. We encourage you to take the time to read Dr. Lehr's book Understanding Hair Transplants, which is available free to prospective patients. Hair Transplant Consult
You will be asked to consult with Dr. Lehr either in person or, if you live some distance from Oklahoma City, over the phone. All hair transplant consultations are free. Your scalp will be examined either in person or through photographs to determine if you are a good candidate for a hair transplant and to determine what could be achieved with a hair transplant. You will be asked what your goals are to determine if you can hope to reach those goals with the amount of hair you have present. Setting and understanding realistic expectations for hair transplants is of the utmost importance. Our goal is to recreate lesser degrees of hair loss in a completely natural pattern without "plugginess". We are limited by your degree of hair loss, your donor supply, and possibly your age.
We will also discuss the use of medications such as Propecia and Rogaine to help stop further hair loss. Whether you decide to have a transplant or not, if the thought of losing more hair bothers you, you need to start and stay on one of these two medications.
Scheduling a Hair Transplant If you decide you would like to proceed with a hair transplant, we will have one of our staff help you with picking a date. We operate Monday through Friday, but we only do small cases on Friday. A $500.00 deposit is required to reserve a date. The remainder of the bill is due prior to surgery. We do not finance. One of our staff will review pre-operative instructions with you. We will mail a consent form for you to review prior to the day of surgery, and we will encourage you to bring CD's or of your favorite music and any movies (VHS or DVD) you might like to watch. A list of hotels is available if you are from out of town. If you are from out of town, we recommend you arrive the day before, since surgery begins at 7:00am. Morning of Hair Transplant Surgery
You should shampoo your hair either the night before or the morning of hair transplant surgery. Do not use any mousse, gel, or hairspray. Wear a button up shirt and have breakfast. You should arrive about 10 minutes before 7:00am to finish any paperwork. You, and if you like, anyone accompanying you, will be brought back to the operating room. Photos will be taken (don't worry, we don't show them to anyone without your permission). Dr. Lehr will then talk with you and answer any additional questions you may have. Once all your questions have been answered, you will be placed in front of a large mirror, and a hairline will be designed for your hair transplant. Your input will be actively encouraged about what you like and don't like when you look at various options in the mirror. After you are happy with the hairline and the plan, you will be given medicines to reduce anxiety, to help reduce swelling, and to guard against infection. A thin strip of hair will be clipped in the donor area of your scalp. This area is magnified to obtain hair counts and then calculations are made in order for us to determine the number of follicular units that will be transplanted. With you lying on your stomach, we begin to very gently anesthetize the donor area while you listen to your favorite music. During Hair Transplant Surgery
After you are thoroughly anesthetized and relaxed, Dr. Lehr will begin to surgically excise the donor strip. During this time, you will feel gentle pressure, but no pain. In fact, during this time, many of our patients will actually fall asleep. Small segments of the donor strip will be excised and sutured as we move along during this phase. Before you know it, we will have you turned over and reclining in the procedure chair. The area where the hair will be moved to is in then gently anesthetized after removing the numbing cream that had been previously applied. During this time the donor strip that was removed from your scalp is being microscopically dissected (you can watch if you like). The dissection is continued throughout the day until nothing but 1-4 hair follicular units remain. These follicular units are then inserted into very small needle holes in your scalp. The single hairs are used at the very front before gradually merging with the 2 hair units and then further back the 3 and 4 hair units, creating a completely natural density gradient. During the implantation of the follicular units, you may feel nothing except very light pressure on your scalp. You can spend your day listening to more music, watching cable television or movies, talking on your cell phone, working on your laptop, chatting with the team, or simply napping. You can take a break for a stretch, a snack, or the bathroom any time you like. If it is not a small transplant, we will bring in lunch –you choose from where. This process takes from 4-10 hours, depending on the number of follicular units transplanted.Immediately After the Hair Transplant Post-op instructions will be thoroughly reviewed with you. After cleaning your scalp, we will give you a ball cap to wear to hide the hair transplant. Because of the medications that were given to you during the hair transplant, you cannot drive yourself. You will need to have a family member or friend drive you, or we can get a taxi for you. Typically, the front of the scalp is not painful, but as the back of the scalp where the strip was excised begins to wake up, you will probably want to begin taking some of the pain pills we provide for you. Most patients use pain pills a day or two, although some never need them. Ice packs intermittently on the forehead and brow can help reduce the chances of swelling. A solution will be given to you to use both as a soak and a spray for your newly implanted follicular units. If you are consistent with it's use, the small crusts around each follicular unit will tend to fall off more rapidly. The next morning we ask you to shampoo your scalp very gently by patting on the shampoo and then rinsing it by pouring a cup of water over your head. No return visit to the clinic is necessary after your hair transplant. Later After the Hair Transplant The small crusts around the follicular units will begin to come off in 7-14 days. We use absorbable sutures, so suture removal is not needed. During the first 2 weeks, we recommend no heavy lifting, swinging (golf, tennis), heavy exercise, submerging your head while swimming, or any other activity in which you risk hitting your head. You can wear a hat during the healing phase to hide what's been done. Within the first month, the hair shafts in the follicular units that were implanted usually fall out. That's expected. The new hair root remains under the skin and it will begin to regenerate a hair, which you would expect to see growing 3-6 months after the hair transplant. During the first 4 to 6 weeks, you may have a pink hue to your scalp, which will slowly resolve. Additionally, during this time, it is possible for some of the pre-existing hair in the transplanted area to fall out, but just like the transplanted hair, it will regrow, usually within 6 months. If you do lose some of this pre-existing hair, your hair could temporarily look even thinner before everything regrows. As the hair begins to grow in, you will be both relieved (it is hard not to worry about it the first few months) and excited. But don't judge the results too soon. Even though you will be able to see the regrowth well by six months, it's better to wait 12 months when the new hair has some length before you judge it. We ask our patients to wait a minimum of 6 months before coming back for another hair transplant. This new hair should be permanent hair at least until you reach 70-80 years of age. At that time, you may begin to thin all over, but that's not standard balding, it is simply a part of advanced age. Don't forget to stick with your Propecia or Rogaine so you won't continue to lose your other hair.
Norwood & Lehr Hair Transplant Clinic
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