I'm ten days post-op with Dr. Keene (2500 at 25-30cm2). So far very little shockloss to grafts and surrounding hair. Also, I haven't had much in the way of itching or scabs. However, I have been using a fair amount of saline.. not sure why, maybe to relax the scalp a bit and aid its cleanliness?

I'm wondering if there's such a thing as using "too much" saline after a procedure. My concern is that it may be hampering the graft's attachment to the scalp. Any concern in doing so or am I just paranoid?

Thanks

Did you forget to add the glue?
j/k

IMO it should be fine, the attachment is under the skin, but ask your doc and report back here for the rest of us to learn

quote:

Originally posted by Midiman:
I'm ten days post-op with Dr. Keene (2500 at 25-30cm2). So far very little shockloss to grafts and surrounding hair. Also, I haven't had much in the way of itching or scabs. However, I have been using a fair amount of saline.. not sure why, maybe to relax the scalp a bit and aid its cleanliness?

I'm wondering if there's such a thing as using "too much" saline after a procedure. My concern is that it may be hampering the graft's attachment to the scalp. Any concern in doing so or am I just paranoid?

Thanks

Midiman,

Unless you're using more saline than you are water from the shower (depending on Dr. recommendations you should be using it full bore) I seriously doubt you'll drown your soldiers.

At 10 days post-op saline is not needed anymore. If you still feel bumps (scabs) on the top of your head, you can gently massage your recipient area by shampooing in the following manner to ease them off completely: give your head a good soak under the shower to really hydrate the scabs, massage with shampoo, then give it another good soak. Patients are reluctant to massage for fear of losing grafts, but feel confident that the follicles are well adhered by now. It will look like you have dandruff for about a week.

Thanks Janna , that is good advice. In your opinion, is saline in water spray all I need. Last time I used Grafcyte and to be honest stayed red longer than I expected.

TY

quote:

Originally posted by Janna:
At 10 days post-op saline is not needed anymore. If you still feel bumps (scabs) on the top of your head, you can gently massage your recipient area by shampooing in the following manner to ease them off completely: give your head a good soak under the shower to really hydrate the scabs, massage with shampoo, then give it another good soak. Patients are reluctant to massage for fear of losing grafts, but feel confident that the follicals are well adhered by now. It will look like you have dandruff for about a week.

Approximately 7 years ago, we used to recommend only saline spray post-op. Then, we found that Graftcyte spray, more often than not, got rid of the redness sooner than saline. There's different factors that may explain why it took longer for you to rid the redness for your first procedure - maybe the incisions were a little bigger, you had a bigger session, or more up front where it's more visible. Either way the redness will subside fairly quickly.

Thanks Janna, I think you hit the nail on the head, it might of been a function of the incision size (the doc just said he has recently gone to .9) and my decision to get back on rogaine (alcohol) sooner than I should of. My session was only 1938 grafts so it wasn't a megasession, however it was all up front.

Thanks again.

quote:

Originally posted by Janna:
Approximately 7 years ago, we used to recommend only saline spray post-op. Then, we found that Graftcyte spray, more often than not, got rid of the redness sooner than saline. There's different factors that may explain why it took longer for you to rid the redness for your first procedure - maybe the incisions were a little bigger, you had a bigger session, or more up front where it's more visible. Either way the redness will subside fairly quickly.

Thanks everyone. I'll refrain from using saline now. Janna, quick question...

Does Dr. Shapiro recommend short-trial Rogaine application to help speed growth of newly transplanted hair? I frankly had better results using Nioxin's "Follicle Booster" prior to the HT and would like to start its regimen soon if it's alright.

Thanks...

if you don't mind me asking, what did the nioxin follicle booster do for you?

Dr. Shapiro does recommend using Rogaine two weeks after surgery to help jump start the growth of newly transplanted graft for two to three months. Grafts are going to grow regardless, so this is for people who are especially anxious for the hairs to grow.
Ideally, he would prefer the patients keep using Rogaine indefinately in conjunction with Propecia.

I'd like to hear more about your experience with the Nioxin booster. We don't have much feedback about it to start recommending it to our patients.

Janna, thank you for the information...

Concerning FB, I started a full-on Nioxin regimen about nine months ago after two hair stylists claimed their husbands were having success with it. Nioxin FB claims to "repair damage caused by free radicals, enhance nutritional uptake by energizing cellular scalp activity up to 200%, and protect against the phototoxic effects of sunlight thereby improving hair density and quality". It does indeed cause redness when applied to all areas of the scalp.

Because I color out my grey, I noticed an immediate regrowth of new grey hair to my frontal zone... maybe 15-20 new hairs a day. Nothing to write home about... but a definite improvement. I'm not claiming it'll work for everyone, and this hair was possibly coming out of its telogen phase, but I definitely had more hair after nine months. (obviously not enough to deter a HT )

Janna, only thing I worry about using rogaine to jumpstart the new hairs is I don't want my existing hairs to get hooked on the rogaine and fall out when I stop using it. I don't want to take it consistently as it is a messy regimen that I don't wish to do for life. Is it ok to use for a month or two without worry of native hair getting hooked on it? and if it is, how often should u use it? once a day or twice? thanks

I agree with Tkerr

I stayed away from Rogaine during my 2 HT's. No sense in starting something which may contribute to some marginal early growth. Unless the patient is going to stick with it, I wouldn't risk the consequence of "adding" loss when stopping. Good to have someone objective like Janna as a source of knowledge

Cheers

quote:

Originally posted by tkerr22:
Is it ok to use for a month or two without worry of native hair getting hooked on it? and if it is, how often should u use it? once a day or twice?

Good question tkerr22... Briefly back to Nioxin FB. I decided to use some last night... big mistake! Stung like crazy! I'm thinking it'll be better to just let the grafts grow normally without additives.

I was thinking of stopping rogaine on the hairline . I get zits on the forehead and it looks and feels slimy. I don't mind putting it on the crown and the cost is minimal. Costco sells rogaine 5% 3-60 ounce bottles for 19.99. I'm headed for my 4 month check up on 8-4 so I was going to asks the docs opinion.Also its easy to just put on the crown and not drip it all over the head. Also I don't know if it's fact or what about your other hair getting hooked on it like a drug addict and then needing it to grow or falling out.

We have not had any patients report they lost native hairs due to usage and stoppage of Rogaine in the first two months. We recommend to our patients to use the 5% just once a day in the evening before bed for two months. Our thought on Rogaine is that it can only help. If a person does not see any benefit, then they can stop any time. I haven't heard of follicles becoming "addicted" to Rogaine. I will check with our Doctors to see if they have heard of this phenomenon. When Rogaine works, it works very well especially with Propecia. We recommend Rogaine usage only as an optional regimen as we realize this product seems to work on approx. 50% of patients. Dr. Shapiro feels the risks are minimal (time and cost) to see if you are among the lucky 50%.

Worried,

If you are seeing pimples at your hairline or in your grafted area, you may be experiencing folliculitis. It's nothing to be alarmed about. Be sure to report how many pimples you're getting and how long you've had them to your doctor when you have your follow-up visit. They will tell you how to treat it if they determine that's what it is.
Did you have any grafts transplanted in the crown area? If it's the Rogaine, I'm wondering why you're only getting pimples in the hairline if you're applying Rogaine to your whole head.

cool, so applying rogaine for a month or so will be ok on the existing hairs, and might speed up some growth?

Yes, that's SMG's view on short term Rogaine use.

Well maybe I'll reconsider Rogaine use?

Janna, if I don't end up shedding a lot of the hair that Dr. Keene transplanted soon, what would be a fair amount of time to know whether or not the hair is going to remain in place and not fall out due to shockloss?

Thanks for your contributions here!