Newbie w/question: Paranormal or normal activity?

[NewHair2011]

Hello all,

I've been a lurker for quite a few years now and have dreamed of having a hair transplant since I was 19. Well on September 6th (one of) my dream(s) came true and I had a FUT performed by Dr. Dorin in New York. I had 1902 grafts planted and I am as of today 8 days post op. This was to restore my temples and hairline.

Just a little bit of background, I am a 31 year old African American woman who has been suffering from traction alopecia since the age of 19. Now on to my concern.

At 5 days post op my mom dropped something and not even thinking about it I reached down to pick it up for her. Well she was thinking the same thing and we both bent down together. She accidentally brushed against my hairline and I immediately went to go check the mirror to make sure nothing was wrong. When I looked in the mirror I saw what "appeared" to be an open hole in my head and immediately thought I had lost a graft. To my horror I later found on my shirt what appeared to be 2 or 3 hairs in a scab which I'm thinking confirmed that I had indeed lost a graft. I was a little worried at first, but I calmed myself down and thought one graft is not going to make a difference, right?

Well today, 8 days post op, I look at my scalp again and now there appears to be between 5 and 7 open holes in my head. "What's happening to me?" is what i'm thinking? Am i losing hairs or actual grafts? I'm so worried that my grafts are coming out. Can anybody shed any light on this for me? I tried taking a closeup pic of the holes I see, but its not visible on the camera. Please confirm or deny my fear. Thanks in advance for the responses.

NewHair2011

[NewHair2011]

Anybody? lol

[Locke]

In my post-op instructions from Dr. Rahal I remember it saying something about "valleys" forming in the recipient area and that's it's completely normal.

I had an FUT done June 21st so I'm in the same boat as you. I was dozing off to sleep one day and I bumped my head against the bed post. I was pretty concerned about it but really what can we do? We could (a) wait and see what happens, it's 99% most likely that it's fine or (b) schedule another hair transplant to replace those hairs. Option a is the realistic one.

Things are probably fine, my hair is growing in at the pace it should be even though I hit my head.

With that being said, understand that my hair was at the 2 week mark, I believe, where as 5 days is much more concerning. Perhaps your Dr. can address it if you send him pictures?

[NewHair2011]

Hi Locke,

Thanks for addressing my concerns. I would send the doctor the photos but they aren't that clear at

[mattj]

You say your heads "brushed". It doesn't sound like much of an impact occurred. In fact, some doctors allow their patients to be quite hands-on with things like washing the grafted area by this stage.

At 5 days post-op the grafts aren't totally secure, but they have become less vulnerable by now. It's possible to lose the hairs along with scabs without the important part of the follicle coming away too. You probably know that the hairs will actually start shedding soon before they grow back.

Have you contacted the doctor's staff about this yet?

[NewHair2011]

Hi Matt,

Thanks for the reply. I did call the doctor's office today and here is what I found out:

- The "follicle" i thought i lost on day 5 was just hair and scab.
- Currently at 9 days post op it would be nearly impossible for grafts to fall out.
- I am to begin shampooing regularly and massaging the recipient area to help remove scabs.
- I should be fine :-)

Thanks again for the views and replies.

Mecca