I was reading a write-up of Dr. Feller's office visit and noticed that he uses staples instead of sutures. Any idea why? If you have gone through a procedure with Dr. Feller that involved staples, what was the pain level like during and post-op. I'm assuming you had to go back to the office to have them removed.

a TON of people just remove the staples themselves or have someone else (family member or local doctor) remove them.
as for the specifics as to the differences regarding staples and sutures is concerned, not really sure. Never concerned myself with it too much as my research and primary goals are to receive the most grafts possible per session, have the best and most natural look (NOT excluding your scar concerns here) and that the best scar results are from trichopytic closure, which the docs I want to go to use staples.
If you haven't popped your follicular cherry yet, I wouldn't be excessivelly concerned over the scar. I've never heard of anyone going to a world class surgeon (i.e. H&W--YEAH Im a cheer leader, Feller) and not being able to shave their scar area down to a #3 clip at the least.
Pain: you will get drugs.
and it will only be temporary and your results will last (hopefully) for the rest of your life...
what is 'GQnDN'?...GQ in Dire Need?

Most top docs use staples (trichopytic closure) today as they leave a much better looking scar. I just had my second op with Dr Feller last Monday and have still got the staples in now. I have never had the sutures so I don’t know the difference but I do know that the staples are not as bad as they look. . I had my 1st op last January and just got my old man to remove them with the staple remover that you get given to you, it’s not that bad…….

Thanks for the replies guys, very good information.

notgoing: say G-Q-N-D-N slowly and keep repeating it faster...you'll get it.

Good question,

I do not think there is proof that staples leave a better scar vs sutures. One of the keys for closure is the amount of tension on the wound. The other key is clean removal of the strip and the surgeons skill level.

I have had sutures and had no problems, they disolve in a few weeks, no need to travel back to the docs office. I have heard staples are painful to sleep on.

Falc can give you a pro-con on the issue.

Again, the key is the skill of that surgeon!!

Oh, GQ---iN---Deee---eNd????
another note regarding scars: I recall reading a post by Dr. Hasson, in which he stated that the longer a scar is, the less tension is placed over the entirity of the scar area; which in return will lead to a smaller likelihood of stretching.

Great topic.

There are varying philosophies on the use of staples verses sutures. I haven't seen any compelling evidence that one is necessarily superior over the other. However, it would be interesting to get some physician feedback on this.

In the end however, it comes down to the appearance of the scar when the scar has matured. I have had 3 hair transplants and the first two physicians used sutures while the third used staples. The best scar I had was from my first surgery, but that can also be attributed to the fact that I had a virgin scalp.

Falc

As a Feller patient, though this is pretty similiar to many other patients from many other good clinics: post-Op, 3 hours of moderate pain that evening in my donor/staple region, after that, just general anxiety over My Precious, and still a good deal of excitement which possibly masked some minor pain. The staples themselves are not felt as they are administered, and aside from the anesthesia shots I had zero pain -- and I would rate the shots as pretty minor.

Staple removal -- 1.2 out of 10; maybe 5 out of the ~50 felt like a quick pinch at the worst. In the interest of full disclosure, however, the women taking them out was a bit surprised that they came out so smoothly/pain-free for me, but from all I've read and heard, it simply isn't that bad. Also, she may just have been trying to make me feel manly...

sutures are more comfortable for patients, less pain, however there is a higher chance of shock loss (even permanent) due to the fact that the sutures go between hair follicles, and stay in the scar for a longer period.