It' now over my 3.5 month mark. As you can see from my pics, everything healed up nicely, and I have some growth beginning. I asked a few weeks ago about some grafts that did not shed. Even now there are some hairs that are blunt, short and not growing. I tugged on a few, and they came right out. I emailed Dr Feller about this, thinking that at this point all grafts should be shed or if not, growing, and was answered by his receptionist. She told me that the Dr said to leave them alone. When I asked if tugging on them would hurt the follicle, she said at this point I can't. I still have these hairs, and was wondering if anyone else has(d) these at the 3.5 month mark. On one side where there are some, it seems to be more itchy than normal, and touching these hairs seems to be more sensitive than other areas.

wish I could tell you as no one else has responded yet, but I haven't had a ht yet. sorry.

what---are you hoping that these hairs will not shed and you can keep them?

No, i'm hoping they shed soon so the new hairs dont get ingrown or infected. I know they're not growing and are just sitting there, so i'd like em gonw to make room for the new hairs.

i had a few hairs that stayed short for about 9 months. the suckers finally grew...

Really. Were they short, blunt cut, and thick? I dont think these will grow, because I think theyre the original hairs that were in the grafts when Dr Feller put them in. A light tug, and they come right out.

John,

If you're only at 3 1/2 months post op, you really should not worry about which hairs are growing and which are not. Some people shed for the first 4 months after surgery and don't begin to grow the transplanted hairs until 4 months or so, and this is just the beginning of growth. You received 3200+ grafts in the frontal 1/3 of your head, it will give you very nice coverage and density. You're just at the cusp of having your ht hairs grow. Try to enjoy the new growth rather than worrying about it cuz by post op 6 months, you're going to be amazed at the change. I wouldn't pull any hairs out either. Let nature take it's course. The non shed hairs are not going to cause ingrown hairs. I understand post op period of 3 - 5 1/2 months can cause a lot of anxiety in many patients. You are not alone on this.

Patience my friend..

3.5 months is nothing.. Wait until 6 before you even expect cosmetic difference.. Yes, maybe sooner but 6 months is a good benchmark

John M,
You have to understand what is happening at the microscopic level under the skin. After hair transplant surgery, probably 95% of the follicles that have been moved to the recipient area are "shocked" into a 3-4 month "telogen" phase, during which the follicle structure "shrivels" up, shrinks, and takes a nap for a few months. While it does this, it totally disconnects from the little stub of hair above it, leaving it sitting in its little superficial hole. Oftentimes, a shower, brushing, or rubbing your scalp will cause these to fall out of their tenuous hold in your scalp and cause panic. Don't worry.
The follicles that don't shock, which is usually a small percentage, but occasionally can be quite a few of them in some patients, you can tell because the hair grows from the get-go and from week to week you can tell this is happening. In many cases, a lot of the short hair stubs will fall off along with the scab at the 1-2 week mark and cause alarm in patients, thinking that they have lost the translanted hair, when it is just a shedding of this dis-attached hair, which is dead, just like a finger nail that has been separated from its bed but still sits in position at the end of your finger. Interestingly enough, when one uses multi-follicular grafts of 4-5 hairs each, almost all of the hair stubs DO fall off with the scab, whereas in areas where all FU's are used, I find it common for the hair stubs to sit in place for many weeks as you have described. When the follicle finally comes out of its "slumber" and starts creating a new hair shaft, this new shaft quickly displaces the other one.
Mike Beehner, M.D.

There you have it.It sounds like Dr Beehner was explaining my 1st HT too a tee.Thanks doc wellsaid.

Thanks all for the responses. I guess it's that deep down I know already what everyone said, but needed to hear it for reinforcement.

Dr. Beehner,

Thank you for adding your professional input and explaining the process of what happens to the transplanted hairs after being inserted into the recipient sites.

This is certainly helpful information.

Falc