(Note: This medical advice is given by Our Medical Center and applies only, to our patients who have had their hair transplant procedure
performed by our Institute and not other clinics, who copy our COPYRIGHTED material 1994, (and use it as their own).
Hair restoration
is a delicate procedure. Your adherence to the following is ESSENTIAL in order that YOUR RESULTS BE OPTIMAL. DO NOT SKIP any instructions
listed here. No item is unimportant. (WE STRONGLY ADVISE YOU PRINT THIS PAGE OUT AND REFER TO IT EVERYDAY AFTER YOUR HAIR TRANSPLANT!)
1. Do not take ASPIRIN, IBUPROFEN, BLOOD THINNERS and no ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES for at least 3 days after your procedure. These medications
may result in excessive bleeding. For minor aches, pains and headaches, use a non-aspirin containing medication such as acetaminophen
(Tylenol) or the medication prescribed to you.
2. Several medications may be given to you following your procedure.
Prednisone,
5 mg. Take 6 pills in the am for the 3 days. Take all six pills at the same time. You MUST take this medication with food. If you
had a smaller number of grafts inserted, take 5 pills the first day, 4 pills the second day, 3 pills the third day, 2 pills the fourth
day and 1 pill the fifth day. This medication is to help in reducing swelling.
Vicodin: This medication is prescribed for pain.
Alcohol must not be consumed while taking this medication. This could be result in excess drowsiness and even coma. DO not drive any
vehicle while taking this medication. Take one table every 4-6 hours for pain or as proscribed.
Cephalexin: Take 1 caplet three times
per day for 10 days until all gone beginning the night of your procedure. This medication is to fight any possible infection caused
by dust and dirt in the air getting on your new grafts.
3. Refrain from exercise such as running, cycling, weight lifting, tennis,
golf, baseball soccer and be careful getting in and out of cars and airplanes, etc., for at least SEVEN days after your surgical procedure.
Such activity may result in bleeding by increasing your blood pressure or hitting the area. This may cause loss of grafts and intense
swelling around the eyes and forehead. All contact sports are to be avoided for 2 weeks after your procedure. However, you can return
to work the following day after your surgery if it will not put your hair grafts at risk.
4. Do not bend over at any time or engage
in any heavy lifting for at least 48 hours after surgery. Keep your head and upper body elevated above the level of your heart at
all times, especially when sleeping. This is to avoid bleeding and excessive swelling. Using a rolled up towel or airline neck pillow
has found to work best and keep anything from rubbing out the grafts if you have had work done in the back crown area.
5. Grafts may
appear as small elevations, bumps or slits on the skin surface after surgery. You may also see just a small slit with no hair coming
out due to the razoring of your donor area and that graft being smaller in size. The next thing you may see is a graft laying flat
to the surface being a little bigger in size. The final thing you may see is a graft sticking up a little bit due to larger in size.
THIS IS ALL NORMAL. RELAX
6. In occasional circumstances, minor bleeding may occur from one or more of the graft implants. This can
be alleviated by applying CONSTANT LIGHT FINGER PRESSURE to the area with moist gauze pads or a most clean cloth for 5-10 minutes.
Do not dab the area with your finger or any paper product. Be careful not to disrupt surrounding grafts by applying more than LIGHT
PRESSURE!
7. Ice packs applied to the FOREHEAD AND DONOR AREA in the back of the head is VERY IMPORTANT for the first 2-3 days. Apply
the ice in a zip lock bag or cold pack as often as possible at least 4 times per day for 15 minutes each time. Make sure to use a
wash cloth between the ice pack and the skin to avoid freezing the skin. DO NOT apply ice packs to the grafts.
8. One of the minor
cycles of a hair transplant is swelling. If swelling occurs, it usually occurs 48-72 hours after surgery. It is painless and will
begin on the forehead and over the bridge of the nose. It may proceed to surround the eyes. If this occurs, do not panic. The swelling
will subside spontaneously in about 2-3 days. Continue to use ice packs on the swollen areas and relax. Refrain from any strenuous
activity.
9. Sleep with your head and upper body propped up on 2-3 pillows for the first 3-4 days. This will assist in preventing swelling.
Sleeping in a recliner with your head and upper body elevated is also effective.
10. Do Not Wash or disrupt the grafts for 48 hours
after surgery. After this time, wash your hair with shampoo in a cup of warm water. Rinse with cool or warm water. Be very careful
when you wash your hair. These precautions should be taken daily for 14 days after your surgery. This will significantly decrease
scab formations. After 14 days, you may resume normal shampooing and shower spray. Keep the scabs and graft sites as clean as possible
for several weeks after surgery.
11. Apply Light Pressure on the grafts with a towel or gauze pads after showering. This will absorb
any blood that has formed on or around the graft sites.
12. If you use a blow dryer, use on COOL SETTING for the first 14 days after
surgery. Even warm air could cause minor bleeding at the graft sites.
13. The graft sites will form tiny dot scabs after the surgery.
The scabs will fall off in 7-14 days. As the scabs fall off, you may notice the tiny hair is shed with them. (THIS IS NORMAL! DO NOT
WORRY!) In 4-6 months according to medical text book your new hair will begin to grow. We normally see it start to grow in 3-4 months.
Have Patience! Do not pick or scratch the scabs. Doing so can cause infection and endanger the survival of the grafts. If the scabbing
persists after 14 days, you may now begin shampooing vigorously. Remember, the critical period is 14 days after surgery.
14. Several
weeks after surgery or anytime thereafter, an ingrown hair or hairs may appear. This will take on the appearance of a small pimple
or bump in either the donor or recipient areas. Apply a warm washcloth to the area for 10 minutes 3 times a day to get it to open
and or pierce the center of it with a sterile needle. After 3 days, if there is no relief or the area is becomes red, swollen, and
tender or inflamed, contact us at 954-541-2187
15. Bathing in water containing chlorine is NOT RECOMMENDED and should be avoided
for at least 14 days after surgery.
16. Avoid sun exposure for 3 months after your surgery. Wearing a loose fitting hat and or sun
block is recommended.
17. You will need to get your suture removed and checkup on your surgical sites 10-14 days after surgery.
You may come to this office to have this done or consult with your local Doctor or Walk-In-Clinic in your area that can remove the
suture and easily detect any minor problems which may have occurred. If your private Doctor does raise a concern, please contact our
office immediately and we will go over this information with him or her.
18. The above post-operative hair transplant recovery instructions
are provided and recommended by our Medical Center. We strongly advise that you print this page out and follow the advice given herein
precisely.
19. If you have any problem, question, or concern following your surgery, we strongly advise you to contact our office by
telephone at 954-541-2187 IMMEDIATELY!
20. One thing to keep in mind is that hair transplants are an investment that grows! Following
the expense and time you invested in this procedure, why take risks and put your investment at risk? Following your hair transplant,
our Medical Center will advise you on these principals of your hair transplant recovery. We also advise you print this page and
refer to everyday, following your procedure.
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