Day 1 – First Day of Post Operation for my Hair Transplant

1 day after FUE hair transplant – Aug 14, 2020.

I slept awful last night. These are the top three reasons that kept me from a good night’s sleep. 

1. I can’t use my CPAP machine because I’m afraid the straps will affects the grafts or the rub against the donor or recipient areas.
2. The donor area on the left, right, and backside of my head is extremely sore where the grafts were removed, and it’s difficult to lay my head on the pillow.
3. I tried sleeping at a 90-degree angle, thinking gravity will help secure my new grafts. This is not a comfortable position to sleep when the beds only lay flat at 180-degrees. 

Most of my restlessness is due to my fear of losing a graft and not laying my head on the pillow. 

I head back to Boston today. Before I leave, I chose to attend the optional 1- hour post-op check-in. During this post-op session, they will teach me how to care for my new grafts. 

During this session, they examined my head to check if any grafts were loose. If any grafts were skewed, they could reset them at this point. I was thrilled to hear I haven’t lost any grafts, and I was healing quickly. Skin started to form around the newly transplanted grafts. My babies were quickly becoming secured in their new home. This confirmation placed my mind at ease, and I was glad I attended this final session. 

What I learned during my post-op session:

• I learned how to properly shampoo my hair for the next 5-7 days. I use the provided baby shampoo and dab on my head gently, then rinse gently using a warm cup of water drizzling from the front to the back of my head.

• I should continue watching my head, so I don’t bang into anything and disrupt my grafts. 

• Continue spraying my head with the Liposomal ATP spray to promote growth and healing.

• Reduce swelling of my face by remaining to ice my forehead four times per day.

• Avoid infection of the donor area using Bacitracin Ointment on the donor area after shampoo for the first five days.

• I can indulge in my Woodford Reserve Manhattan tonight.

After I left the Shapiro Medical Group, I headed to the airport to get back to Boston. The trip was uneventful. Traveling during COVID-19 is an experience in itself. The plane was reasonably empty, and there were no services. I wore my surgeon’s cap, continued to spray my head with the Liposomal, and plugged into my iPad to finish watching The Flash on Netflix.

Soon, I was back in Beantown, being greeted by my husband at the airport. I was only gone for three days, but it felt like three weeks. Once we were home and settled, my hubby made me my first Manhattan and ordered my favorite meal, BA-MI Heang, with a side of chicken broth from The Soup Shack. I couldn’t ask for a better welcome home.

Before going to bed, I took 3 Advil for my pain medication. Again, I had difficultly sleeping in our bed because I couldn’t find a comfortable position. Eventually, I had to go downstairs to sleep on the couch. We have a sectional sofa, and I found it easier to sleep propped up at a 90-degree angle in the corner of the couch’s sectional section. Sleeping on the sofa also let my husband get some rest since my sleep apnea was in full throttle without my CPAP.