Crusts / scabs falling out look like grafts after hair transplant

[squiz]

I'm not one to write reviews or posts but I swore I would write 3 things following my HT 6 months ago if it was successful, as these caused me concern at the time and hopefully will help others. This is post 2.

In the whole HT process, this caused me the most anxiety.

My crusting didnt match the normal pattern. From reading many guidelines, they fall off between 7 and 10 days. So during that time, if I saw any flakes of skin in the sink after washing my hair, I assumed they were the crusts and everything was normal.

Then on day 10, suddenly it started. I can only describe it as like severe sunburn. On washing my hair, I was horrified to find lots of what looked like grafts floating in the sink.

The word "crust" or "scab" is not the right word for what I had. They were, to my eyes, identical to the grafts they had shown me in the clinic. Like small grains of rice. Not oval or "pin head" shaped but longer. They were white, and not dried blood like some people say crusts are.


On day 14, the night before going back to work, I took a hot bath and washed my hair to remove the remainder. There were hundreds of them floating around in the water. I showed my wife and showed her pictures of crusts on the internet from sites like this, and she agreed it didnt look good.

My clinic assured me that grafts are secure after 9 days (I watched the burnstein study video) but what went through my mind was that my body had mass rejected the grafts.

Anyway, I'm pleased to report 6 months later that everything is good. I don't have any patches that have not grown and do not believe any grafts did not take hold. My HT is better than I had ever hoped

As many people say, everyone is different. I hope this puts someone's mind at rest if they have the same symptoms.

[tercex11]

Congrats squiz!!!!

[jimbob88888888]

Hello everyone. I just recently had a hair transplant 8 days ago. I have a question that has been troubling me since about 2 days ago, and I have searched and searched and gotten nothing but conflicting answers, and it is really frustrating me. I have posted this question in another board, and it probably the same situation that you had, squiz.

The thing is this: While I have been lightly rubbing the scalp to get rid of scabs in the shower, the scabs have been coming off. However, along with the scabs oftentimes a whole graft comes out. Basically, it looks exactly like what the doctor showed me was a follicular unit graft, but it was dried out. It's not just a hair attached to the graft. This happened at 6 days after the surgery. It is still happening as scabs come off, on day 8. Sometimes I do see only hairs come off with the scabs, but it has mostly been what appear to be dried-out follicular unit grafts.

For what it's worth (apparently it's important, for reasons unclear to me), there has been no bleeding associated with the grafts coming out. However, Bernstein Medical's page on the graft-pulling study clearly indicates two situations: One where the graft hairs are pulled out, indicating no loss of the graft, and one where the whole follicle is pulled out (along with blood loss), indicating loss of the graft. My question, then, is what happens if the scab comes out with the whole follicle, but there is no bleeding? My other question is this: I mistakenly used the saline spray given to me by the doctor on the donor area for the first two days, rather than on the recipient area (the nurse that did my first hair wash told me to use it on the donor area). Does this mean that the grafts were not properly hydrated and are now dead and beginning to fall out?

Most everyone asks about single hairs coming out with their scabs, and that is apparently perfectly normal. Not too many people ask about whole follicular units coming out, and that is where I see nothing but conflicting answers, some saying that the graft is lost and some saying that that is normal as well. Is there a definitive answer as to what I should expect going forward at this point? I asked my consultant but he said it was normal and wouldn't cause issues as long as there was no bleeding, but again, this conflicts with what a lot of people have said, including Bernstein Medical's study. Thanks in advance for any responses.

So what you said means I have nothing to worry about, or what? Because a guy responded to my post in another forum and said to call up my hair transplant doctor immediately, because it could mean problems.

[squiz]

It sounds very similar to my experience.

I forgot to add they were dried out and some contained hairs.

My research also indicated there was only a problem if there was bleeding, so I'd try not worry - easier said than done eh looking forward to you posting back in 6 months saying all ok!

[jimbob88888888]

Just about all of mine have hairs in them. Here are some pictures, too, so you can compare. They're pretty crappy, though, but if you focus you can see a blurry black line, which is the hair, and the yellowish area, which appears to be the dermal fat. The hair extends through the length of the yellow area as well. I also attached a picture of what appear to be "normal" scabs, assuming my 5mm ones are "abnormal". Those small scabs also have hair in them sometimes, but just a small piece of hair and no elongated structure that appears to be dermal fat or a hair shaft.

I think that there is honestly nothing that could put my mind more to rest than your input, but please be honest. Does what's in my picture accurately describe what you are talking about? No bleeding is ever present, and I am now 9 days post-op (the first one came out 6 days post-op). I really look forward to posting back in 6 months (hopefully sooner!) saying that I have great growth occurring. Thanks in advance, squiz.

[Ash1]

Curiosity is killing me.

Just about all of mine have hairs in them. Here are some pictures, too, so you can compare. They're pretty crappy, though, but if you focus you can see a blurry black line, which is the hair, and the yellowish area, which appears to be the dermal fat. The hair extends through the length of the yellow area as well. I also attached a picture of what appear to be "normal" scabs, assuming my 5mm ones are "abnormal". Those small scabs also have hair in them sometimes, but just a small piece of hair and no elongated structure that appears to be dermal fat or a hair shaft.

I think that there is honestly nothing that could put my mind more to rest than your input, but please be honest. Does what's in my picture accurately describe what you are talking about? No bleeding is ever present, and I am now 9 days post-op (the first one came out 6 days post-op). I really look forward to posting back in 6 months (hopefully sooner!) saying that I have great growth occurring. Thanks in advance, squiz.

I’m going through the same situation now. I’m wondering how is your transplant now?
I know you probably didn’t visit the website in years but still optimistic that you’ll respond

[pkipling]

Thanks for sharing this, and I'm sure it will help others not to freak out when the same thing happens to them.

For anyone else experiencing something similar, remember a good general rule of thumb in regards to losing grafts is this: If it doesn't bleed and it doesn't hurt, then it wasn't a lost graft. Also, after the first 72 hours, those grafts are pretty well anchored in and it would take a good bit of force to dislodge them. So let them shed at their own pace, be careful with the grafts and follow your surgeons post-care instructions, and by 6 months, you'll hopefully be writing a post about how well things are starting to shape up.

I am a patient advocate for Dr. Parsa Mohebi in Los Angeles, CA. My opinions/comments are my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Dr. Mohebi and his staff.

[Jam123]

Scabs / crust after 2 months?

Hi all, I had my HT about 10 weeks ago. I had a DHI treatment with 1800 grafts to reconstruct my hairline and temple peaks.

I went through the worries of shedding, scabs, crusts in the first 2/3 weeks as normal and I thought I was past it all looking forward to my new hair.

However week 10 I have had some NEW crust / scabs that are falling off

They are falling off as they dry and there is hair within them.

This is very small quantity I have noticed around 5/6

These are either old ones that didn’t come off for some reason or new ones that have formed

I noticed the hair in these scabs / crusts was growing and much longer than the length of the initial hairs that were implanted which leads me to think it is some old scabs that didn’t come off initially

Has anyone else experienced this?

[pkipling]

Hi all, I had my HT about 10 weeks ago. I had a DHI treatment with 1800 grafts to reconstruct my hairline and temple peaks.

I went through the worries of shedding, scabs, crusts in the first 2/3 weeks as normal and I thought I was past it all looking forward to my new hair.

However week 10 I have had some NEW crust / scabs that are falling off

They are falling off as they dry and there is hair within them.

This is very small quantity I have noticed around 5/6

These are either old ones that didn’t come off for some reason or new ones that have formed

I noticed the hair in these scabs / crusts was growing and much longer than the length of the initial hairs that were implanted which leads me to think it is some old scabs that didn’t come off initially

Has anyone else experienced this?

I didn't experience this personally, but it doesn't seem very out of the ordinary. There are many factors that determine how each individual's scalp will heal, and 10 weeks isn't that far removed from surgery. The important factor is that the majority of the grafts are secure within the first 3 days, and by day 10 they're lodged in and can't be damaged by scabs, pulling, etc. So you're well beyond the zone to be worried (even more so several weeks after you made this post). Hopefully you're seeing some solid results by now!

I am a patient advocate for Dr. Parsa Mohebi in Los Angeles, CA. My opinions/comments are my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Dr. Mohebi and his staff.

[Aclar02]

Im glad I found this post, my transplant was exactly 2 weeks ago with Dr. Lupanzula and I just had a scab/crust come off with about 6 hairs in it. I know about the hair shedding but this freaked me out because they were grown into the scab so it seemed like it could be whole grafts. No bleeding or anything so hopefully its no big deal

[concerned21yo]

So I have the same thing except these scabs have hair in them. The problem is that I have never had any sort of hair surgery. Does this mean my hair follicles are falling out?

[pkipling]

So I have the same thing except these scabs have hair in them. The problem is that I have never had any sort of hair surgery. Does this mean my hair follicles are falling out?

You have scabs falling from your scalp, even without surgery? If so, this could be dermatitis, but you'll need to see a dermatologist to get an accurate diagnosis. I have the same thing, and I discovered over the years that there were certain hair products I was allergic to that would cause my scalp to break out and scab.

Look at the products you're using, research some more natural products, and see if you can keep the scabs at bay that way. If that doesn't clear it up, I'd definitely see a dermatologist to see if they can help you.

I am a patient advocate for Dr. Parsa Mohebi in Los Angeles, CA. My views/opinions are my own and don't necessarily reflect the opinions of Dr. Mohebi and his staff.