This week i will be 2 weeks post op. 2 Weeks post op as of wednesday.

Do you feel it is safe at that point, to take a dip in the ocean?

Probably right..? Some of the scabs are falling off, and tiny hair appears. I was buzzed pretty close for my procedures, so the hairs are very tiny.

Probably fine to go for a swim?

How about pool water? Will the chlorine damage the grafts?

NO NO NO!!!!!

STAY AWAY from the beach, and Pools!

SALTWATER KILLS YOUR NEW FOLICULES!

My doctor told me to stay CLEAR away from them...

whats the consesus.. Is Ocean Water beneficial for healing purposes or bad?

I know the sun is bad, and I didnt plan on going swimming all day. Just wondering if the ocean water is beneficial or not.

Any Doctors have an opinion?

Guys, I know this an old thread but thought it is interesting the comment that "Salt water kills grafts"

Many of us post op have instructions to spray a saline solution on the grafts for a few days during the healing process.

I am sure this poster is wrong and salt water is good for the healing process.

Any thoughts??

Im going to take bubble-baths in champagne after mine...

i'm interested in this topic myself as i'm about to buy a house that has a salt-water pool in the backyard....was going to use it as an excuse to start swimming for exercise but if i should stay away for a while in case it harms my HT, maybe i'll just use the pool for the women???

I think after 2 weeks you can do just about anything but strenous lifting. Swimming may be fine after 7-10 days not sure.

NG2GB

LOL, Just don't go at it alone

Two weeks after surgery, you should be fine for a dip in the pool or the ocean. There is a difference between saline water and ocean's salt water. You wouldn't want to spray ocean water on your newly transplanted grafts. I heard of a patient who swam a few times with the first 10 days after his ht surgery thinking the ocean's salt water would have healing effects. Apparently his ht doc said the ocean water was fine for a dip. His transplanted area got infected. Lesson learned.

I believe that the first two weeks following surgery are the most critical. And it is important to understand that each person heals at different speeds; some people look amazing after one week while others take a little more time to look the same way.

For the incision, it is important not to stretch it or put any undo forces opposing the edges of the incision. This will just lead to more collagen formation, and ultimately, a larger scar. I tell all my patients to allow the incision to heal well before any strenuous activity.

Grafts: After two weeks, the grafts are seeded pretty well. Again, I ask my patients not to put any undo stress on the transplanted grafts for about a month or when they start to shed. I do this for a couple reasons; one, that is a healing area and I don't want anything to compromise the healing process. Living in the Northwest, I've had several patients ask me if they can go skiing with helmets on 2 weeks after surgery (especially this season with fantastic snow). I let them know that I think it is still too early to allow anything to be rubbing on that area. Usually when the grafts start to shed, then I believe they can resume their normal activity. The second reason is that every patient has put a lot of effort into the surgical procedure, not just the time of the procedure, but the time after the procedure caring for the surgical sites. Having them wait a couple extra weeks to insure that the grafts are completely seeded and will not be damaged by outside factors is worth the wait.

Steven Gabel, M.D.
Portland, Oregon
503-693-1118

I also agree with Dr. Gabel and would add 2 comments on swimming/summer time activities. First, I swim a couple of miles a week and I have used various masks/goggles and I think just about all would apply undo stress to the donor area, possibly causing a wound separation. Additionally, the turning of the head from side to side will DEFINITELY stretch the donor area probably causing scar widening. Having personally performed 2700 facelifts in addition to hair transplants I can absolutely say that wound stretching in the first few weeks after surgery is key to hypertrophic scar formation. I authored a paper back in 1995 on the treatment of hypertrophic scars and keloids in the Archives of Otolaryngology or the Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery discussing this further if anyone has interest.

The second issue is sun exposure on recently operated upon skin can permanently stain the scar line, or cause the recipient area to become hyperpigmented, requiring bleaching agents or chemical peels as treatments.

So to conclude, I echo Dr. Gabel. If you have had a transplant, ease off stretching of the scalp and direct sun exposure for 4-6 weeks.

William H Lindsey MD RESTON VA www.lindseymedical.com