Your advice please for post HT

[ark]

Hi all,

I would like your help and advice following my FUE surgery on 13 December 2010. I received 3100 grafts in zone 1, 2, and 3. From the hair line going backwards to before the crown area.

In terms of the hairline - is it normal to get pimples in the hairline after the procedure? If so, how long do they last and can anyone recommend anything to help get rid of them? I have been told that sweating increasing the pimples.

Also, how long does it take for the donor site to recover? Initially does it look like your donor site has been overtaxed? I had 3400 from a strip and then recently 3100 from a FUE. Does that sound like too much has been taken out from the FUE?

Thanks in advance for your help. Really appreciate it.

ARK

[mattj]

How widespread are the pimples? It's normal to get them and they are often a sign that hairs are going to sprout, but that they are trapped and ingrowing. They will free themselves in time. Occasionally a transplant patient might get a case of Folliculitis which can be dealt with using an antibiotic cream. Best to contact your surgeon if you are unsure.

The previous strip surgery should not make any difference to how your donor area looks now, assuming it was more than a year ago and had already fully healed by the time you had the FUE session. Strip obviously reduces the size of the donor area to an extent, giving you in total a smaller area from which to have FUE grafts harvested, but your donor density will play the biggest part in how changed or unchanged this area looks after surgery.

The extractions are normally very quick to heal. You had a relatively large number of grafts taken, especially for just one session. If your density wasn't very high then it's possible that the donor will look thinner now. There is also a chance that you have experienced shockloss in the donor region. This can happen, and the larger session with more extractions in close proximity could increase the chance of that occuring. Patients will normally recover from this.

I don't know your details but I'm just offering you a few ideas to consider. You should really be in contact with your surgeon about your worries.

[CIT_Girl]

As mattj mentioned, it sounds like you could have some retained hair fragments. Patients commonly mistake them for ingrown hairs or pimples but they are actually a sign that new hairs are trying to grow in where old fragments are still present. You can use a pair of tweezers to remove any short, non-growing hairs from the scalp. If they are retained hair fragments, they are non-growing hairs and should slide out very easily. Another possible treatment is to scrub the scalp with soap and a wash cloth to try and remove any non-growing hair fragments.

[ark]

Hi both,

Thank you for your words of advice.

There are a few pimples in the hairline, they are coming through as normal pimples do i.e. they hurt a little and expand then die out.

I am mostly concerned with the redness and small bumps, especially in the corners of my hairlines. Is this normal as well? The hairline seems raised almost. I have posted photos on my other post 'HT with Dr Armani'.

Would really appreciate your thoughts and help.

ark

[ark]

p.s. I had the strip in Sept 2008. The donor site has recovered very well after that. Again my photos of the donor site are on my other post.

You can make out the strip scar, but that probabaly has to do with the area being completely shaven off just a month back. I just hope it grows back to average density and I am not stuck with a thin back and sides!

ark