(Note: This Medical Advice is given by Our Medical Institute and applies only, to our patients who have had their hair transplant
procedure performed by our Medical Institute and not other clinics or chains, who have copied our COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL 1994, (and
use it as their own).
Hair restoration is a delicate procedure. Your adherence to the following is ESSENTIAL in order that YOUR
RESULTS BE OPTIMAL. DO NOT SKIP any instructions listed here. No item is unimportant. (WE STRONGLY ADVISE YOU PRINT THIS PAGE OUT
AND REFER TO IT EVERYDAY AFTER YOUR HAIR TRANSPLANT!)
1. Do not take ASPIRIN, IBUPROFEN, BLOOD THINNERS and no ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
for at least 10 days. These medications may result in excessive bleeding. For minor aches, pains and headaches, use a non-aspirin
containing medication such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) or the medication prescribed to you.
2. Several medications may be given
to you following your procedure.
Prednisone, 5 mg. Take 6 (six) pills in the am for 3-days. Take all 6 pills at the same
time with breakfast. You MUST take this medication with food. If you had a smaller number of grafts inserted you maybe asked to take
5 pills the first day, 4 pills the second day, 3 pills the third day, 2 pills the fourth day and 1 pill the fifth day. This medication
is to help in reducing swelling.
Vicodin or Percocet: This medication is prescribed for pain. Alcohol must not be consumed
while taking this medication. This could result in excess drowsiness and even coma. DO NOT DRIVE any vehicle while taking this medication.
Take one table every 4-6 hours for pain or as proscribed.
Cephalexin or Keflex: Take 1 caplet three times per day for 10 days
until all gone beginning the night of your procedure. This medication is to fight any possible infection caused by dust and dirt in
the air getting on your new grafts. Drinking Alcohol can kill your antibiotic during your ten day recovery period.
3. Refrain
from exercise such as running, cycling, weight lifting, tennis, golf, baseball soccer and getting in and out of cars and airplanes,
etc., for at least SEVEN days after your surgical procedure. Such activity may result in bleeding by increasing your blood pressure
or hitting the area. This may cause loss of grafts and intense swelling around the eyes and forehead. All contact sports are to be
avoided for 2 weeks after your procedure. However, you can return to work the following day after your surgery if it will not put
your hair grafts at risk.
4. Do not bend over at any time or engage in any heavy lifting for at least 48 hours after surgery.
Keep your head and upper body elevated above the level of your heart at all times, especially when sleeping. This is to avoid bleeding
and excessive swelling. Using a rolled up towel or airline neck pillow has found to work best and keep anything from rubbing out the
grafts if you have had work done in the back crown area.
5. Grafts may appear as small elevations, bumps or slits on the skin
surface after surgery. You may also see just a small slit with no hair coming out due to the razoring of your donor area and that
graft being smaller in size. The next thing you may see is a graft laying flat to the surface being a little bigger in size. The final
thing you may see is a graft sticking up a little bit due to larger in size. (THIS IS ALL NORMAL. RELAX…)
6. In occasional circumstances,
minor bleeding may occur from one or more of the graft implants. This can be alleviated by applying CONSTANT LIGHT FINGER PRESSURE
to the area with moist gauze pads or a most clean cloth for 5-10 minutes. Do not dab the area with your finger or any paper product.
Be careful not to disrupt surrounding grafts by applying more than LIGHT PRESSURE!
7. Ice packs applied to the FOREHEAD AND DONOR
AREA in the back of the head is VERY IMPORTANT for the first 2-3 days. Apply the ice in a zip lock bag or cold pack as often as possible
at least 4 times per day for 15 minutes each time. Make sure to use a dry wash cloth between the ice pack and the skin to avoid freezing
the skin. (DO NOT) apply ice packs to the grafts or the area we just worked on.
8. One of the minor cycles of a hair transplant
is swelling. If swelling occurs, it usually occurs 48-72 hours after surgery. It is painless and will begin on the forehead and may
over the bridge of the nose. It may proceed to surround the eyes. If this occurs, do not panic. The swelling will subside spontaneously
in about 2-3 days. Continue to use ice packs on the swollen areas and relax. Refrain from any strenuous activity. Some patients don’t
have any swelling at all.
9. Sleep with your head and upper body propped up on 2-3 pillows, rolled up towel or airline neck pillow
for the first 3-4 days. This will assist in preventing swelling. Sleeping in a recliner with your head and upper body elevated is
also effective.
10. Do Not Wash or disrupt the follicular units for 48 hours after surgery. After this time, wash your hair with
shampoo in a cup of warm water. Rinse with cool or warm water. Be very careful when you wash your hair. These precautions should be
taken daily for 14 days after your surgery. This will significantly decrease scab formations. After 14 days, you may resume normal
shampooing and shower spray. Keep the scabs and follicular unit sites as clean as possible for several weeks after surgery.
11.
Apply Light Pressure on the follicular units with a towel or gauze pads after showering. This will absorb any blood that has formed
on or around the follicular unit sites.
12. If you use a blow dryer, use on COOL SETTING for the first 14 days after surgery.
Even warm air could cause minor bleeding at the follicular unit sites.
13. The follicular unit sites will form tiny dot scabs
after the surgery. The scabs will fall off in 7-14 days. As the scabs fall off, you may notice the tiny hair is shed with them. (THIS
IS NORMAL! DO NOT WORRY!) In 4-6 months according to medical text book your new hair will begin to grow. We normally see it start
to grow in 3-4 months. Have Patience! Do not pick or scratch the scabs. Doing so may cause an infection and endanger the survival
of the follicular units. If the scabbing persists after 14 days, you may now begin shampooing vigorously. Remember, the critical period
is 14 days after surgery.
14. Several weeks after surgery or anytime thereafter, an ingrown hair or hairs may appear. This will
take on the appearance of a small pimple or bump in either the donor or recipient areas. Apply a warm washcloth to the area for 10
minutes 3 times a day to get it to open and or pierce the center of it with a sterile needle dipped in alcohol first. After 3 days,
if there is no relief or the area is becomes red, swollen, and tender or inflamed, contact us below.
15. Bathing in water containing
chlorine or the ocean above your neck is NOT RECOMMENDED and should be avoided for at least 14 days after surgery.
16. Avoid
sun exposure for 3 months after your surgery. Wearing a loose fitting hat and or sun block is recommended if you plan to stay in the
sun for a long period of time. Going from your car to your home or work building is no big deal. When you do start to get sun on that
area after the three month period, do it in small time intervals, 10-15 minutes at a time to build up a base without burning.
17.
You will need to have a suture removal and checkup on your surgical site 10 to 14 days after surgery. You may come to this office
to have this done if you live in the area or consult with your local Doctor or Walk-In-Clinic in your area that can remove the suture
and easily detect any minor problems which may have occurred. If your private Doctor or Walk-In Clinic does raise a concern, please
contact our office immediately and we will go over this information with him or her on the telephone.
18. The above post-operative
hair transplant recovery instructions are provided and recommended by our Medical Institute. We strongly advise that you print this
page out and follow the advice given herein precisely.
19. If you have any problem, question, or concern following your surgery,
we strongly advise you to contact our office by telephone at 954-541-2187 IMMEDIATELY!
20. One thing to keep in mind
is that hair transplants are an investment that grows! Following the expense and time you invested in this procedure, why take risks
and put your investment at risk? Following your hair transplant, our Medical Center will advise you on these principals of your hair
transplant recovery. We also advise you print this page and refer to everyday, following your procedure.
To get a better Idea
of how your Donor Area will look like (done correctly) go to our Scar Revision Page.
If you have had a Hair Transplant
Surgery of any sort,
Again, if you have any questions or concerns, DO NOT
HESITATE to contact our Medical Institute.
Call Now! 954-541-2187.
Hair Transplant Post OP. Recovery