Hair Transplant Pre-op: Preparing my scalp for FUE hair transplant – Part 2

The first part of this posted is Day 0: Part 1 – Define hairline, buzz head, before photos.

Our last stop of the day is a large room with a big comfortable dentist style chair in the middle. From this central location, you can watch TV, with your choice of Netflix or 500 movies. For some reason, I chose the movie Avatar. I’ve never seen the entire film and thought I’ll finally finish the movie. Spoiler alert: It doesn’t matter what you watch; you’re not paying attention to the TV. 

For some reason, my nerves hit an all-time high when I entered the room.  

Dr. Josephitis has a great team that has worked with him for years. This is apparent in the way they interact and support each other. Their camaraderie put me at ease. Although, next time, I will take them up on their offer of drugs. 

The first step was to numb my head. This is critical because you don’t want to feel anything when the doctor starts punching holes in your head. These holes will define my new hair and provide a map of where my hair follicles will be transplanted tomorrow. The puncturing of your scalp is a unique sensation. Your head is entirely number, so you don’t feel anything. However, you can feel and hear the sound as the instrument punctures the scalp. The closest sound I can compare this to is the sound of a screwdriver piercing a thick piece of cardboard. 

Preparing my scalp for tomorrow’s hair transplant took approximately 1.5 hours. Overall, today’s session took 2.5 hours, from initial pictures to the final puncture in my scalp.

I am uncomfortable but not in pain. I took the prescribed Advil and reviewed the bag of supplies they provided.

This bag includes:

• Surgeons cap to wear when outside
• Advil for pain
• Gauze pads to blot any bleeding from the punctures
• Protective pillow covers so you don’t ruin the hotel’s pillows

One item I forgot to bring was a button-up shirt. I was wearing a loose-fitting henley t-shirt that I could easily slip over my head. 

From this moment forward, you will need to be extremely cautious of your scalp. You must avoid accidentally bumping or rubbing your head. This may open the puncture wounds or dislodge the hair follicles after your transplant. This is why they suggest you wear a button-up shirt. I’m 6’5,” and I’m used to banging into doors, lights, or other low-hanging objects. So from this point forward, I’m going to be extra cautious and move slowly. 

While I’m changing my clothes, I glance in the mirror and see an insane man who looks like they completed 12 rounds of shock therapy, looking back at me. There was no way I was going out in public with a red, bleeding, raw scalp. 

On my way back to the hotel, I stopped at Ciao Bella to pick up dinner. I ordered chicken-under-a-brick with fingerling potatoes and roasted vegetables. Back at the hotel, I continued binge-watch The Flash on Netflix. There is no better time to prop yourself up in bed to relax and decompress. 

I would have loved to pair my dinner and binge-watching with a Woodford Reserve Manhattan. However, after today I realized the importance of pre-op preparation. Alcohol thins your blood, and if my blood was too thin, I would be bleeding profusely from the puncture wounds. This could have a disastrous effect when the doctor begins transplanting the hair follicles. If your blood is too thin, the hair follicles could wash out from the bleeding.