What To Expect After Surgery

Immediately After Surgery to 3 Months

Immediately following surgery, you will have fresh incisions that are clean but look a bit like a rash. Some patients with certain hair and skin types may be quite surprised on how well it is hidden (masked). On the second day, small scabs the size of a pin head will develop and remain on the scalp for 2-6 days after surgery. By day 8-10 post-op, the area should be virtually scab free if you follow the post-op cleaning instructions. With the possible exception of a dry scalp, the area should be undetectable. Starting around the 14th day, the hairs in the grafts will go into a resting phase during which the shaft will separate from the root and shed, leaving the root behind. This is completely normal. Things will then remain dormant for about 2 months. Beginning at 3 months, you will experience hair starting to grow slowly. This is what is called the active growth stage.

3 to 4 Months

Generally, new hair should begin to grow after the 3rd month, but everyone is different. Some experience new hair growth earlier and others a little later. Some may worry that what they see at 3-4 months is the final result, but that is not the case. At best, the hair growth at this time represents approximately 20% of the growth you should anticipate. When the transplanted hair first appears, it is immature, fine, thin and light in color. As time passes, more transplanted hair will appear and will become thicker, longer and darker. Itching in the recipient area or discomfort in the donor area may be present, however, it should pass in a few months. The incision in the donor area at this time is healed, but still remodeling. It will continue to improve over time. Also at this stage, a few patients may develop small pimples (folliculitis) around the transplanted area as hair emerges. If this occurs and persists, please notify us for treatment.

5 to 6 Months

A significant change usually occurs between the 5th and 6th month. By the 6th month, about 80% of the hairs should have penetrated the skin, but only about 50-60 percent of the final visual aesthetic effect has been achieved. Between the 6th and 7th month is the best time to schedule your follow-up appointment to evaluate the progression.

12 -14 Months

The visual result continues to improve for up to a year. It is only after a year that the final look is typically achieved. The reason for the continued improvement over the last 6 months is due to the following:

• There still may be about 10-15 percent of the hair that has not reached full maturity.

• Mature terminal hair develops between 8-12 months post-op as the hair obtains its normal thickness.

• Hair will become longer, darker in color, and thicker in diameter. A minimal change in diameter has a significant effect on the appearance of fullness.

Remember, the aesthetic effect of a hair transplant is more dramatic when a patient has no original hair (bald) in the transplanted area. When a patient has some of his/her own original hair in a transplanted area, the procedure is just as successful, but the results are less dramatic because a new hairline is not being created. In these situations, we are increasing fullness of hair in a thinning area. Patients will notice more refinement (blending) in the transplanted area as well as an improved appearance of fullness under a greater number of circumstances.