Pre-op instructions say to stay away from anything that could thin the blood for two weeks prior to surgery. No asprin, alcohol etc. So, here's the question: How serious did you guys that had your HTs adhere to this pre-op instruction? If any of you popped an asprin or had a glass of wine/beer in the days preceeding your surgery, did you feel it made a difference in either the healing of the recipient or donor sites? Not to fear - I'm not thinking of bucking the trend. Just curious as to how people really follow instructions when all is said and done.

I just had my second HT two days ago and I will be reporting in detail here as soon as the Doc gives me all the pics he took. I followed the preop instructions to the letter. I did not do it so well on my first HT and I think this second time I can already see faster healing, more than 50% of the scabs have already disappeared, no pain, no swelling and I did the scalp strectching exercises they really help, I have no tightness whatsoever. It's kind of a chore to do all this preparation but so far it seems to have halved my post op symptoms.

Neptune,

I don't know from personal experience...but I hope you take my word for it...follow the pre-op instructions. Why chance it? You are spending a LOT of money on this surgery...you don't want to add complications by not following the pre-op instructions. Cheers!

Falc

Well Falc, if anyone would know it would be you! Don't worry, I don't intend to not follow the directions. I was curious to see what everyone's experiences had been. I had surgery on my shoulder last year and went though the same drill. A little different than this though.

ASA's anti-platelet effects are permanent for the life of the platelet, typically 10 days, so you should refrain from ASA for 10-14 days pre-op.

Why would you want to make the surgeons job more difficult. By thinning your blood with these products you will be causing excessive bleeding requiring additional work to clear the area of transplantation. This ultimately may effect the appearance you obtain, if the surgeon cannot see the area properly he cannot place grafts properly. Steer clear of them.

Neptune,

It's pretty obvious to the surgeon when the pre-op instructions are not followed, especially with regards to aspirin. In our clinic we ask for no aspirin for two full weeks then no alcohol for one week as well as a few other minor products to abstain from. The time requests are made for a specific reason. If these are not followed then the patient may wind up being sent home. If the blood is too thin, you'll have a hard time forming clots therefore you'll just keep on bleeding.

Hi

I know they say no pills 7-10 days out but i don't remember the alcohol thing.. Maybe the day or 2 before but a week???

I know. For my shoulder surgery, I was told no asprin for two weeks and no alcohol for a couple of days prior. For hair it's two weeks/one week. I guess the alcohol has more of an affect on the scalp than other body parts. Maybe it makes the recipient area bleed more with as many small incisions as are being made.

Personal experience: I screwed up and had 3 beers a week prior to surgery (honest mistake, really... for some reason, I got it into my head that it was 1 week prior you can't have it, not two and thought I was safe).

Don't do it.

Even as little as 3 beers makes a noticeable difference in the bleeding of the recipient area. The practical ramifications are, the technicians will get ticked off at you (as they have at me somewhat) because it makes their job harder, and it makes staple removal more painful since when you bleed more, more blood will dry & stick to your hair.

None of the staples hurt enough to make me jump out of my chair or anything, but a few there had me catching my breath. I'm only 10 days post right now so I can't speak as to long-term ramifications and I honestly don't expect any, but the surgery itself is traumatic enough as it is. Don't make it harder on yourself than it has to be.

I think YoungGuy's experience confirms something that could use some talking up to those about to have this surgery. Maybe everyone already lives pre-op surgical instructions to the letter, but for as important as the impact of as little as a few beers (or Asprin) a week to two weeks ahead of time may be, seems we should be sure to really warn those about to have this surgery of the potential impact. Don't take me wrong. I"m not beign critical at all. I've had some outstanding advice gained from being on this forum. Just haven't really heard this talked up as much. Maybe we should hype it up a bit more since the potential impact is so great. Many people around their 40's have already had a surgery or two, and speaking from personal experience, while Asprin was heavily warned against, alcohol was not (at least not for as much as a few days ahead of surgery). HT surgery is a different beast in many respects.

Thanks to all for chiming in on this one. Good stuff to use and share.

Yes, Neptune, good thread and good info pre-op.

We here a lot about pre-op scalp exercises ten times more than we hear about this issue. Thanks for bringing this to the forefront, very important as YoungGuy can attest.

I made the mistake of taking MSM right up to the HT day. I knew you couldnt take asprin and stuff but not msm. It did thin my blood and when the techs were placeing my grafts in they had to spray it with water every now and then so they could see. it just makes the procedure longer. When Dr Feller was punching the holes he didnt say anything so it wasnt to bad.

My pre-op instructions said no alcohol 7 days prior.

My instructions say no asprin 10 days prior and no alcohol 3 days prior. I hear several here say their docs said no alcohol a week prior. Is there not some way to define a "standard" practice here? Asprin seems straightforward. Alcohol not so much. A week seems safe by everyone's standards. But Dr. Epstein says three days. I imagine (based on photos of many patients) he has enough experience to warrant his protocol. Again, I'm not advocating less than a week. Just sharing info. I'll stop good wine a week prior just to avoid any risk. It might be useful for others who have experienced other surgeons to chime in and maybe we can come up with some "alcohol" majority accepted "safe zone" for those who will follow us. If only a few docs are three days, and the rest are a week, that should say something. Then I hear there is a whole different issue when it comes to MSM.

If you want to avoid any risk, stop it for 2 weeks before. 1 week obviously wasn't enough for me

After hearing what happened to you YoungGuy, I for sure will. Thanks for the heads up!

Does anyone know what the impact (if any) of MSM is on thinning of blood?

I was also told no minoxidil 3-months prior to surgery. I initially thought it was 3-weeks, but I was mistaken

Found this on MSM and blood thinning.

http://www.arthritis-msm-supplements.com/faq.htm



The key paragraph says this:



Is safe to mix MSM with other prescribed medications?



MSM has been observed in clinical settings some indications that it may have a blood-thinning, aspirin like effect on platelet aggregation. Therefore, you should consult your doctor if you are taking high doses of aspirin, or blood-thinning medication such as heparin or dicumarol.


Would indicate that MSM should be discontinued like asprin prior to transplants.

Hey guys, I just wanted to add something here since I just had another procedure. My doctor noticed my blood was a bit "slippery", meaning thin. I followed pre-op directions to a tee. The only thing I could think of was I used some "Smart Balance" buttery spread. I noticed it has Omega 3 Fatty Acids (Fish Oil) in it. Maybe that thinned my blood a bit. You have to be careful.