Recovery time for Strip surgery

[Nick77]

Hi everyone, i'm currently considering a STRIP procedure with either Dr Feller or H&W and I wondered how long it might take after the surgery to look the same as i did before it? Basically the nature of my job requires me to look smart for clients so being a skin head isn't ideal! I wear my hair pretty short anyway so I am hoping it won't take that long to revert back to my current situation after the surgery. Assuming my hair grows fairly quickly and I like having it around 5 grade short, does anyone have any reliable idea how long it might take to get back to this length. Also, will the new hair grow at a different pace to current? In which case this implies that it will look very uneven so i will have to cut it all back to the same length as the newer hair? Any advice appreciated. Thank you.

[Jotronic]

Thank you for considering our clinic.

Based on what you stated as being your requirements I think for the donor zone you could potentially be back in business by two weeks. Assuming you keep your hair longer before surgery you can then cut it down as short as you can manage after your staples are removed.

The recipient zone may be a different matter but mainly because I'm not sure about one of your questions. You asked about the growth rate of the transplanted hair and if it would be different than your native hair. The transplanted hair does not grow immediately. It takes on average about three to five months for the hair to begin growing so you'll go through a period of looking a bit worse before you look better. This is what many refer to as the "ugly duckling" stage. Once the new hair does start to grow however it should be roughly at the same speed as your native hair assuming it is not miniaturized.

Hair grows on average at about 1.25 centimeters or 1/2 inch per month so any hair that is shaved in the recipient zone should be back to a grade 5 length in about five or six weeks.

I hope this helps.

[Spex]

[Nick77]

Hi Joe thanks for your quick reply. That makes sense. So by ugly duckling stage do you mean that my donor areas (basically what i looked liked before) should be pretty much back to pre-op appearance, but that the new grafts will be visible and look like stubble or something? In reality, does this mean that you have a stubble hairline then your normal hair wherever it was before the procedure? If i'm correct, then I guess the crown area grafts will be less visible as my donor hair will have grown back pretty quickly? So the main issue is the new hairline grafts? Sorry if my questions sound a little confused but I hope they make sense. I'm meeting Dr Hasson in London in March anyway but just wanted to ask here first out of interest. Cheers

Thanks to Spex too

[Jotronic]

Spex,



Nick77,

Your donor area will not need to regrow to begin with so that won't be an issue. The grafts that are placed will indeed look like normal stubble but only for a couple of weeks. They will begin to shed with the bulk of the shedding occurring around three or four weeks. Until then they will blend with your native hairs.

I'll be with Dr. Hasson in London next month so I look forward to meeting you.