Sharp pain above donor area after 1 week

[July2011]

I received a hair transplant 7 days ago for 2,000 grafts. From the beginning I could tell that I was experiencing more pain than the average patient. While most of my head is recovering slowly, I'm still experiencing discomfort.

What has me concerned is that I'm experiencing extreme pain on the left side of my head, about two inches above the donor area - a spot on my head which did not receive any direct treatment during the procedure. The pain has also gotten worse in the past couple of days. So bad, that I need to take a vicodin every three hours to manage. If I smile or laugh, the pain intensifies.

The Dr. and nurse advised that it's possible the nerve endings were cut during the graft removal. I was told that it should go away within a week - which is possible, but I'm fearing the worst.

Can anyone shed light on severe pain adjacent to the donor area? Is it possible that this pain could be permanent? Again, it is the on the left side of my head, a few inches above the very end of the donor area.

Any feedback will be appreciated.

Thank you,

[VictimOfDHT]

Similar questions about the same problem have been answered lately. Some people do experience more pain than others, however excessive pain isn't something that the majority of HT patients experience. I've had a few HTs so far but all have been almost pain free. I'd say check with your doctor. That's the first thing you need to do. I also hope your doctor is a competent one. Many people make the mistake of going to some never heard of doctor who's not better than a butcher. So I hope you didn't make that mistake.

There are cases -although rare- where HT patients have pain that lasts for a very long time because of damage done to the nerves by a bad doctor usually.