Post-Op Instructions

After Surgery

• You will be given all required prescriptions, medications and detailed post-op instructions.
• Should you have any questions concerning any aspect of your procedure, please call the office at (858) 453-HAIR 

Post-op Instructions

1. Alcoholic beverages, ibuprofen (Advil/Motrin) and aspirin are not to be taken for 48 hours after surgery. We will provide you with prescription strength medication.
2. In occasional instances, minor bleeding may occur from the transplant site and/or donor area. This can be controlled by applying gentle but firm pressure on the area for 5-10 minutes with a dampened gauze pad. Press only, do not rub.
3. A pressure dressing will be applied to the back of your scalp where grafts were harvested. This dressing should remain in place for 24 hours. After 24 hours, you may remove the pressure dressing. All donor sites should be closed up and on their way to healing. Apply Bacitracin ointment over the donor area once daily for 3 more days. After that you do not have to apply anything to the donor area.
4. If the grafts dry prematurely, they may cause itching. To avoid this from happening, we recommend you fill a small spray bottle with sterile water and spray the grafts 3-4 times daily to keep them moist.
5. If your surgery involved frontal hairline restoration, we recommend that you sleep in flat position for the next 2 nights after the surgery, with minimal pillows under your upper body. This will help to control your swelling and minimize the degree of swelling that will affect your forehead/brow region. By lying flat, we are recruiting gravity to pull your swelling towards the back of your head instead of all the fluids rolling down toward  your forehead and brow. If your surgery involved crown work, then we recommend that you sleep with a neck pillow similar to the kind you would use on an airplane. This will raise your crown forward and away from the pillow and your bed’s backboard.
6. To minimize swelling in the forehead or around the eyes, apply an ice pack or a bag of frozen peas over the eyebrows for 15 minutes every hour, not on the grafts.  Keep the ice pack at least one inch away from the frontal hairline where grafts were placed. If swelling occurs, it will appear on the second or third day after the surgery. The swelling is part of the healing process and will usually disappear within 5-7 days. Begin using ice packs immediately after the surgery and continue for the next 72 hours. Do not use hot compresses, this will only intensify the swelling.
7. Scabbing will form over the transplant sites and solidify the first few hours after the procedure. These scabs will naturally fall off within 2 weeks.  Do not pick or scratch at these scabs at any time. To do so can endanger the healing of the graft and could cause scarring or chance of infection. Don’t be alarmed if there are short hairs in scabs when they fall off. The hair bulb remains inside the skin. It is natural to lose the hair shaft.
8. Do not wash your scalp for 24 hours after the surgery. Only after 24 hours, may you lightly wet the hair in the shower. We recommend you use a large cup and fill it with warm (NOT HOT) water and pour a small amount of Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo into the large cup. Pour this mixture onto your entire scalp and spread the shampoo over the sides and back of the scalp, massaging the mixture with your fingers, do not rub. It is important that you do not touch the recipient areas with your fingers as this may cause the grafts to come out.  Rinse lightly in the shower with your large cup that is now filled with only water. Do not allow full strength streaming water from the shower head hit your scalp. This may cause your grafts to dislodge especially for the first 5 days. It is recommended you wash your scalp daily or at least every other day for the first 2 weeks.
9. For the first week be careful of what kind of strenuous activity you perform. Weight lifting and intense workouts should not be done for 14 days. Most activities in the work place should be easily resumed a day or two after the procedure. Please ask us if you have any questions or concerns.
10. Hats may not be worn the first 2 days. Afterward, hats can be worn but only when out in public. Do not wear a hat unless you have to or intend to be outside for more than 30 minutes under bright sunlight. We recommend wearing a trucker’s cap, (see pic). Do not wear a hat that collapses or touches your scalp, especially where grafts were placed. You may also begin wearing a sunscreen after 2 weeks to help protect your grafts if you plan to be outside for more than 30 minutes. Please be aware that you can sunburn your grafts if you are outside too long under intense sunlight. Because this is possible, we recommend you avoid going outdoors when it is extremely hot and sunny outside.

1. Be sure to take all medications provided for you as directed.
2. Do not use hydrogen peroxide on your scalp or other ointments unless instructed by the physician. This could affect the healing process and reduce the success of the procedure.
3. Wait 1 month before resuming Rogaine 5% foam. Propecia does not have to be stopped.