Day of FUE Hair Transplant Surgery – Part 2

First day of FUE hair transplant – Aug 13, 2020.

Afternoon

The second half of the day, Dr. Josephitis’s team worked diligently relocating the extracted hair grafts to their new address.

At first, I was surprised the doctor wasn’t implanting the grafts. I read many articles stating you want your doctor to perform every stage of the procedure and not rely on their team. I think some of this stems from the amount of money you are spending. You expect to have the doctor’s full attention. However, he was responsible for all the strategic work and decision making. His team came in to help with the tactical and procedural work. I liked how the team operated, and they had established processes with clearly defined roles and responsibilities.

During the final stage, you can sit up and watch TV. At this point, I have a full stomach, and the Valium is in full effect. I wasn’t interested in focusing on anything and left the radio station on and zoned out while everyone around me worked hard to give me a new head of hair. This final step didn’t hurt, and everyone was very focused and mindful of my comfort. It’s just an odd feeling having several people buzzing around you working on top of your head, and you can’t see anything. At this stage, you need to relinquish control and allow the experts to do their jobs.

After 90% of the grafts were positioned to their new venue, Dr. Josephitis did a final review of their work. He used the remaining 10% grafts to refine my hairline and fix any anomalies. There was only a small gap on my left side he had to correct.

After the last graft was set, the team reviewed the next steps with me.

First, they reviewed the bag of supplies they are providing for my post-op care. The supplies included:

• Tramadol (50 mg) for pain management and sleep
• Liposomal ATP spray to promote healing of the scalp 
• Pillow covers to protect your pillows
• Gauze to blot any excess bleeding 
• Surgeon’s cap to protect my grafts when I’m outdoors
• Baby shampoo
• Bacitracin Ointment

Tomorrow, I am coming in for my first shampoo, and they will teach me how to care for my new grafts. Until then, I need to follow the instructions for my first night. 

First Night Maintenance

• Spray head every 1/2 hour for the first 48 hours with the Liposomal ATP spray to promote growth and healing. After 48 hours, you may spray every 2-3 hours during the day only. 
• For the first 3 days, ice the forehead 4 times per day to reduce swelling of the face.
• Add Bacitracin Ointment to donor area after shampoo for the first five days.
• Avoid drinking alcohol on the first night. 

Cautions

• It takes 5 days for the grafts to take place. Any trauma to the head can displace or remove the grafts. With 2,800 new babies, I’m very concerned and want them all to stick around for a long time.
• Don’t hit your head, bend over, brush your scalp against clothing or any other object. This could dislodge the grafts. 
• Sleeping is a challenge. You need to find a position to prop your head above your heart.
• Avoid bending over. Bend at knees, so you don’t have blood rush to your head.

There are more rules; your clinic will have its own. These are the ones I felt are essential.

I left the clinic at 5 PM and called my husband when I returned to the hotel. Even now, the Valium still affected me, and I sounded like I had a few cocktails. My words were slurred, and I could barely stay awake.

I ate a burger I picked up from the hotel for dinner, and for dessert, I took the prescribed Tramadol to avoid any pain so I could sleep. However, I wasn’t in that much pain. The worst part was trying to sleep sitting up at a 90-degree angle. I thought this would be the best position to avoid any grafts running off in the middle of the night.

The other sleeping challenge I faced was not being able to use my CPAP machine. I have sleep apnea and use my CPAP machine every night. I don’t know if I can use it, but I chose not to because the straps for the face mask are too close to my grafts and cover the areas where my hair was extracted. In an ideal world, I would have a La-Z-Boy rocking recliner to sleep in.

My Rules

Basically, I looked at it this way. I spent a lot of money on 2,800 new babies, and I need to be extra cautious for the next 7 days to keep my grafts in place.

Think about it. First, a hole is poked in your scalp that is larger than the root of the graft. Next, the graft is placed in the spot. At this time, nothing is securing the graft to your scalp until the skin heals around the graft. Over the next few days, if a graft is dislodged, it may remain on your scalp but secured by a scab. If this happens, you will lose that graft once the scabs fall off. 

Until the skin on your scalp heals and secures your grafts in place, you are in danger of dislodging or losing a graft. From here on in, you play a large part in the success of your recent hair transplant. They say it takes up to 5 days before your grafts are secured.

• Watch how you put on clothes. Stick with button-up shirts as putting a shirt over your head, you risk brushing up against the transplants and swiping one away.
• Avoid banging your head on anything. Do you frequently bang your head against various objects? E.g., doorways, card doors. At 6’5″, I do, and this is a big concern. I overlook my surroundings on a good day, so I need to be extra careful.

My responsibility to the success of my hair transplant is my biggest take-a-way. I think because I didn’t realize what a prominent role I play in my hair transplant success. I expected after paying that much money, all I have to do is show up. Nothing in life is that easy.