Just returned home from HT in Toronto. I have a question that I'm concerned with and becuase it's Saturday I thought I'd ask you guys. I was advised to wear a blue surgeon like loose cap. By the time I go thome-due to heat I guess it stuck to my transplanted hairs. I added water to losen it and when it came off I'm pretty sure I saw 1 plug inside the cap-how major is this?

well, it sucks because it's a graft!! But don't fret over it... You'll general lose about 1% of graft hair due to, them not setting correctly, jared loose, or just plan human error.

Don't worry!! You'll never notice the differance.

Happy Healing!! Please share your experiance!!

Good Luck, and enjoy the rollercoaster ride!!

thanks-i just wish i could forward the next 4 weeks. my doc advised me not to wear a baseball or wool at or any kind-just the blue surgeon style hat-not the best way to hide the fact that had a ht. i can't believe it's over-2 years i researched it and now it' sdone-i'm so afraid i'm going to "f" something up! not too much swelling yet but they tol dme it's 2 days after that the swelling comes. it's been less than 1 day and i'm already dying to totally scrub/wash my vitimin oiled greasy hair!

hmmm, not to second guess a doc.. but I found I had no problem wearing a ball cap. As long as it is loosley fit. Actually you will find from many people hear that, that is exactly what they did. Some have even wrapped their head with sarane wrap.

Personally though, I opted for a bandana.. I think it suited me best. You can pretty much wear what ever over your head after 10 days when the sutures come out.

Ken - CONGRATS!! hope you post some pix soon. don't worry about the one that got away! The swelling will be a little anoying when you try to sleep, but it will go away soon enough. One thing my doctor had me do for the donor area swelling was - Ice compress on the swelling for twenty minutes, repeat every hour or so. This helped me keep it to a minimum. Another tip for any swelling on the forehead area - PLACE RAG ON THE FOREHEAD NOT THE HT'S cold rag compress for five minutes, follow immediately with warm rag compress for 5 min., then massageswelling down towards your nose. I know it might sound a little goofy but it really helped the swelling!! Don't forget to post some pix and share the experience!!!!!

Congrats!! Happy Healing!!

Hey guys-please keep these posts coming for me. They are comforting. It's almost 2:30 am and I'm so wired I can't sleep-I'm not nervous-I jsut can't believe this is over and done with! I can't wait to see the outcome-I hope I'm pleased. And Definitely once all is done I will post a hefty collection of pics. I am on 4 predisone pills a day for teh swelling-hopefully it wont be too bad. Honestly the worst part of the whole process was lyign back for 5 hours-my neck got so stiff I couldn't stand it. I told my doc in advance that I have a huge tolerance for all drugs (I'm not a druggie-just the way my body is) so he gived me a morphine tablet and tells me I'll sleep the whole time-I ended up talking up a storm for the last 2 hours. I'm so glad this is done. I just hate that I lost that 1 folicule-I want it back dammit!!! Thanks guys.

Ken congrats man dont worry about the one graft dislodging.I just came back from my 2nd procedure too so i know how your feeling at the moment.Take alook at my website as i just updated my pictures from the 2nd procedure.Once again keep us updated on your pics!

Damo

http://www.inperth.com.au/users/damo/

Hey Ken, I agree with the baseball cap advice. That surgeons cap makes it look like you had some kind of surgery - not exactly subtle. Losing that one graft may be a blessing in disguise - now you know that they can come out. Be really careful when the scabs are hard but still attached to the little hairs. Pulling at the scabs can pull the entire graft out. My advice - gently wash your hair, rinse with a cup, blot dry, and then keep your hands away from your head!

thanks guys-yea I do realize hot easily these things can come out-funtinately it was in the mid upper temple region where I wasn't that thinned to begin with-would have been worse if it were right on the hairline. The thing I hate most is the Vitimin E oil I was given. I was instructed to just let it drip onto the areas but it drips everywhere! I mean my whole face is greasy looking-I wish they gave me some sort of fast drying spray instead. I did my first washing this morning. They asdvised me to use bottled water but I'm sorry-I do'nt have money to buy 4 bottles of Poland Spring a day-so instead I boiled a gigantic pot of water with baby bottles in it. I let it cool to room temp then I wash and rinse with that. I gifure it's cleaner than bottled water water anyway-and it's cheaper! I'm going to look around this site to see if I can find how long before the scabs fall off.

Ken,

Congrats on your procedure! Don't fret too much about the one graft. I did the exact same thing with my surgeon's cap. I stared at it in disgust and awe for about 5 minutes before I decided to just throw it out. It was the one graft I lost.

HBT brought up a good point and one that I stress heavily about wearing a baseball cap for the first 10 or so days post-op. Those first ten days are critical. The grafts are still setting in and can be pulled out and/or damaged by trauma.

I highly recommend spraying a strip of Saran Wrap with some water in a water bottle and placing it gently over the recipient area before wearing a cap. The chances of a graft sticking to even a loose-fitting cap is still pretty high in this time period. With the saran wrap covering the entire recipient area you are fine.

I wear my baseball caps pretty snug and it was no problem. After I put on the sheet of moistened wrap, I would put on my cap, and tuck the extra wrap in. Voila! Looks totally natural and noone is the wiser. You can be confident that you won't be damaging grafts too.

Always be careful that the cap isn't TOO tight. it is possible to change the angulation of the grafts with too much pressure.

Also, while at the house I left the recipient area open to the air as much as possible.

I also utilized the saran wrap and a surgeon's cap to sleep. I never had a problem.

I hope this helps. If you have any other questions about it I'll be glad to answer them.

Good luck,

-Robert

That saran wrap is a good idea. how long before the res spots scap over and fall off? whats the average time for that? I find that the Vitimin E drops are what makes the blue cap cling to the folicules. I'm basically staying in so i'm just non-covered but I will have to venture out soon! Thanks guys. Ken

grafts should start shedding 1-2 weeks.. upto a month.. Don't get impatient and start forcing them. After about a week you can start lightly messaging them off.

Just thought of a really important question. My grafts are in the front and my hair was combed back by teh doctor when he washed it before sending me home. WHen I wash it is it bad to let it naturally dry flat-thereby covering the grafts? Or should I make an effort to keep my hair away from it?

either way should be fine.. Just make sure your old hair isn't sticking to the new grafts.

If they do, just repeat your shower approach, and let gravity fi the problem by tilting your had foward or back.

Congrats Ken,

It will be interesting following your story. I just had an HT about 6 weeks ago also, so I know what you are going through.

well this morning I woke up and major swelling has occurred. I know this is normal but it is so strange seeing your face totally different-the swelling makes me look like i've gaines 5 pounds just in my face. on a good note-i'm so against leaving my house right now that i'm using this "in time" to try to give up coffee. I haven't made a trip to star bucks since I've got back.

Hello KenEastCoast,

I m scarred now, I have scheduled my HT this week, I can feel the pain right now itself.

Can u please let us know, how many grafts HT did u had and in what area (Crown, ForHead, etc)?

Wish u a quick healing

BobbyN

wait until tomorrow morning when you wake up chinese.. Now that will be just plan funny!!

quote:

Originally posted by HairBeThere:
either way should be fine.. Just make sure your old hair isn't sticking to the new grafts.

If they do, just repeat your shower approach, and let gravity fi the problem by tilting your had foward or back.

Definitely. Just re-wet the grafts by pouring some water over the recipient area and carefully brush the existing hair away from the grafts with your hand.

-Robert

Hey BobbyN-dont sweat it-the swelling has actually gone down since I posted that-and it's my own fault because I'm supposed to be sleeping upright but all I have is a flat bed so I'm trying to propt myself but it's not enough. As far as pain-the only pain was in the beginnng they give you these shots around the strip area to numb it then in the forehead area. It is sort of like getting novacane before a filling at the dentist BUT it is much quicker-little jabs that hurt for a sec then stop-then everything is numb. I did start to get my feeling back for probably the last 14 minutes of my surgery but as soon as it was over I popped 3 percocets and was A-ok. I haven't really felt any pain or even pressure since. Some things I wish I knew in advance, my donar strip was shaved beforehand and staples were used. So there's no hiding that plus I'll have to go the hospital or somewhere around here to get them all taken out. My doc gave me a staple remover, I might actually try to do it myself-I'd like to avoid a hospital bill if possible since I am uninsured. All in all now I just need to focus on waiting it all out. Thus far-I'm glad I did it. Back to the swelling-I've spoken with others who have had no swelling so I'm pretty sure it's due to my poor way of sleeping. Ask me any more questions-it feels weird to be answering them as someone who has had a HT-instead of a person thinking about getting one! Oh-and I think I has a little over 2500 grafts...and a tip-ask for a Vitamin A spray or something that wont drip down your face when you use it. Ken