Difference between shed and losing grafts

[3rd time]

Hi all
Currently 12 days post ht the last 2 days I have been trying to slowly work on the scab removal.
Today I massaged the grafted area with shampoo and feel like the majority of the scabs have been removed. I noticed a lot of grafted hairs on the towel when patting dry after shower.
The thing that scared me was I noticed some grafts with the 3 hairs poking out and the bit of tissue underneath also attached.
Does that mean the graft was lost? Others came off with scab attached but some looked like the whole graft came out... I don't think I bled but again I would not have noticed being in the shower.

[3rd time]

Just to explain a bit further. The graft with three hairs attached came out and looked like the bulb underneath was attached along with the hairs. I'm wondering if that is normal when removing scabs.

[35YrsAfter]

Hi all
Currently 12 days post ht the last 2 days I have been trying to slowly work on the scab removal.
Today I massaged the grafted area with shampoo and feel like the majority of the scabs have been removed. I noticed a lot of grafted hairs on the towel when patting dry after shower.
The thing that scared me was I noticed some grafts with the 3 hairs poking out and the bit of tissue underneath also attached.
Does that mean the graft was lost? Others came off with scab attached but some looked like the whole graft came out... I don't think I bled but again I would not have noticed being in the shower.

In Dr. Cole's hair restoration practice, the graft isn't going to come out after 4 to 5 days post op. If one does come out, the graft loss is normally indicated by a stream of blood. At 12 days you won't be losing grafts. The "bit of tissue" is just there to mess with you mind. Nothing to worry about. I've had that happen to me and the hair grew fine. Relax and enjoy the ride. It generally takes one year to see the final result.

[gillenator]

If you did lose a graft, there would definitely be a steady stream or trickle of blood oozing from the site.

Very difficult to lose any grafts at this point in time unless the individual has issues with healing.

[3rd time]

These are what they looked like. I'm not sure if there was bleeding because they came out after showers when towel drying hair so possibly water washed away blood.
There were some which had scab attached but these just seemed different. Almost like graft didnt survive. And quite a lot of these fell.

[3rd time]

Here's another one 8 or 9 days post ht

[Delphi]

After about a week your grafts are completely anchored. Don't even worry about it. You'll be fine.

[35YrsAfter]

Here's another one 8 or 9 days post ht

Don't worry, you're fine. I had nearly the exact same thing and the hair grew fine.

35YrsAfter also posts as CITNews and works at Dr. Cole's office
Cole Hair Transplant
Phone 678-566-1011
Please feel free to call or email me with any questions.

[gillenator]

From the pic, it does appear to be a dried up graft.

[3rd time]

Gillenator what do you mean by dried up graft? this was not explained to me.
I have had Hts before and never noticed these when shedding, hence my concern.
Is there anyway we can get a HT doctors opinion? if these pics look like normal shedding or a graft that did not survive during transplantation. In other words will not grow back.

[35YrsAfter]

Gillenator what do you mean by dried up graft? this was not explained to me.
I have had Hts before and never noticed these when shedding, hence my concern.
Is there anyway we can get a HT doctors opinion? if these pics look like normal shedding or a graft that did not survive during transplantation. In other words will not grow back.

How many of these have you seen? I showed the photos you posted to Dr. Cole last night. He said it could possibly be a transected follicle that was placed in the recipient area.

Hopefully you don't have too many of these. I personally experienced something similar but the hair grew. I didn't have as much dried looking skin on the hair shaft though. I prefer to keep things positive because it's not the end of the world if some of the hairs don't grow. I know it's disappointing though. Keep track of these and let your hair restoration physician know. If your doctor is a long distance away, perhaps you could speak with the doctor and send him some of these for a look under the microscope.

On a positive note, please read this.

[3rd time]

35yrsafter thanks for your help I agree i should remain positive but just haven't had much luck so far with my results and I really do hope these grafts do grow.

I'd say I've noticed probably over 20 and who knows if I lost anymore showering or when asleep. I did notice that a lot were 3 hair graft which were planted behind the front hairline for better density. I was upset because that's where I needed the most work.

In my HT session I was told there was a lot of popping due to my scalp laxity. The moment one would get planted one would pop out which resulted the surgery taking a very long time to finish. I'm talking over 11 hrs for 1500 grafts. By the end of it the ht doc had to take over and try to finish it up. The Dr and his staff worked very hard. I'm not sure if the popping and possible transected grafts will affect my result.

This was my third HT my first two (different doc)over 6500 grafts combined gave me a very mediocre result. The transplanted grafts could have been used in a better way than they were. My front hairline remained very thin and wispy and very little hairs put to the crown. If I can give any advice to people that are starting their journey into HT ask your Dr a lot of questions and have a clear picture of what you want. Be very specific otherwise you won't be happy.

This third procedure was to thicken up some of the front area. The moment light or sun hits my head it's like I have no hairline. Completely see through. Lets hope it grows out ok and after 7 years of work I can enjoy my results.

[gillenator]

3rd time,

From the pics you provided, it appears to be dried out graft tissue. Normally when the crusts/scabs come off, there are not extended graft tissue attached to them. And graft tissue looks similar to your examples once it is exposed outside of the body and subsequently dried up.

After reading your last post with the grafts popping, there could have been some grafts lost (popped) that got intermingled with your hair shafts. They would appear similar to what you showed us IMHO. The good part is that there were not an abundance of them so my premonition is that most of the grafts took. And I also agree with Dr. Cole that some of them could be potentially transected. Either way, outside of the body they perish.

With some exceptions, usually the reason that grafts pop back out from placement is because the blood is not coagulating properly. This is why patients are given pre-op instructions that inform them not to consume things that potentially thins the blood like aspirin and especially alcohol related consumption. I vividly remember when I used to work inside the clinic that every now and then we would get a patient that had alcohol on their breath the morning of surgery. Sometimes they would celebrate the night before or just consumed beer the week of surgery or even the night before surgery. In almost every one of those cases, there were issues of the grafts popping back out.

And some docs will take a complete medical history at the time of consultation and note any other medical conditions and medications that could potentially present complications to the surgery. I still hear that this vital practice does not go on unfortunately.

Not that I am implying that you did something pre-operatively that thinned your blood, but when blood has adequate coagulant levels, it sort of acts like glue to hold the grafts in place within seconds of placement. As the blood clots, it holds the graft tissue until enough healing takes place (usually 72 hours) or so and then it's pretty difficult to lose the grafts from normal activity. Many techs have told me over the years that popping grafts are one of their greatest challenges in the procedure when it occurs.

Normally 1500 graft procedure would take roughly four hours to complete without any complications so reading that it took roughly 11 hours from start to finish indicates something was not normal. But glad to hear that your doctor and the staff hung in there for the full duration.

But as I said, it does not appear that you lost an abundance so hopefully you will still have a decent yield.

Hang in there and wish you the best in the coming months.

[3rd time]

Gillenator,

This was very helpful, thank you.

My hair was long during surgery and it would not surprise me if they did get attached to my existing hair. I did ask if I should get my hair cut before the ht but I was advised that it didnt matter.

I knew about the alcohol from my first two procedures. Thats a non issue for me as I don't drink regularly. Last drink was over 2 months ago. I even stopped multi vitamins, fish oils and gym for over a week before the HT. I did bleed a lot during the procedure.

Both previous and current doc told me that my scalp laxity is unbelievable and the Doc seemed to think this was why the grafts were popping. For the last 2 hrs the Doc went over all the grafts over and over again at times pushing down on my head with his hands with a lot of force. I wasn't sure what was happening but later he explained it was due to graft popping.

It's difficult and frustrating because I have very few grafts left for down the line. Pretty much used up all my donor. Couldn't handle propecia even at extremely low doses so really hope I get some decent growth with this HT.

Given the chance to go back 7 years I would have probably shaved my head and not gone through all this.

[gillenator]

3rd time,

In 33 years I have never heard of scalp laxity having anything to do with grafts popping.

If you bled alot then your blood was thinner than it should have been. But it's hard to say why it was too thin. You are correct in that some supplements thin the blood like those you mentioned along with vitamin E, wheat germ, etc.

Even cardio activity like running, brisk walking, can thin the blood and some docs recommend that their patients cease from this activity before surgery.

If you ever have another procedure FUE or strip, ask your doc about starting an oral coagulant like Mephyton (vitamin K) pre-operatively.

Please keep us in the loop as to your progress and again best wishes on your final result.