Hair Restoration Blog

Q:

Where can I see Dr. Mohebi’s before and after photos? Would Dr. Mohebi be doing the hair transplant surgery himself? How are the donor hairs relocated once broken down into follicular units? Do they just get shoved into place? Am I completely out during the procedure or awake? How long before I don’t look like I just dove into a pool full of needles? Can you send me a link to you’re site if you have one. Thanks so much!
A:

Here is the answer to your questions:
Before and after photos could be seen in our hair transplant photo gallery that we try to keep updated with the new pictures on a regular basis.

Would Dr. Mohebi be doing the hair transplant surgery himself?
Yes, at this point all surgeries will be performed by Dr. Mohebi himself.  A surgical team will assist the doctor during the dissection and implantation of hair follicular unit grafts.

How are the donor hairs relocated once broken down into follicular units?
We transplant the hair grafts or follicular units based on the need of a patient. The doctor will draw the hairline before surgery and discuss it in detail with the patient.  Hairline designing has to do with the degree of baldness in each area and patients preferences.

Do hair grafts just get shoved into place?
The follicular units need to be maintained in special solutions in sold temperature while they are out of the body.  When the sites are made, we insert the grafts gently into them one at a time.  This process is very meticulous and usually takes a few hours.

Am I completely out during the procedure or awake?
You will be sedated, but you will not be totally out.  You will become more alert during the surgery in which you are sitting in a surgical chair most of the time.  You can be watching a movie, listening to the music or reading a book during your hair transplant surgery.

How long before I don’t look like I just dove into a pool full of needles?
You will probably never look like that, but if you are concerned with redness and swelling after surgery they may last a few days.  Most patients recover from surgical swelling and redness after the first 4 or 5 days.

Swelling is one of the common short term side effects of hair transplantation.  Most people who get a hair transplant in the front and top areas of their scalp experience some degrees of sweeling in the transplanted area and forehead.  Swelling or skin edema may last up to 3 or 4 days and typically disappears suddenly in days 4 or 5 following the hair transplant.

The cause of swelling is mostly due to the inflammatory reaction of healing incisions following a hair transplant and it is generally unrelated to intraoperative injection of anesthetic solutions.  Patients may not have any swelling for the first day or two after hair transplant, but may start to notice such swelling at day 3 or 4 after the procedure.

There are several methods to minimize the swelling such as:

1. Sleeping in semi-seated position for the first few nights after hair transpalnt surgery.  Keeping head above the level of chest can significantly help to minimize the rate of swelling.
2. Use of systemic anti-inflammatory medications such as steroids after a hair transplant.  We prescribe steroids for a short period to most hair transplant patients to minimize post op swelling.
3. Use of elastic bandage to wrap the forehead (should be only done if instructed by the surgeon).
4. Local infiltration of diluted steroid solutions into the recipient area during surgery.  This method can be used on selected patients.

There has been a recent study by Dr. G. Abbasi on the effect of diluted solution of steroid to minimize the rate of swelling after a hair transplant in the journal of Aesthetic Surgery recently that explain the result of the study of steroid injections on swelling after a hair restoration (Hair Transplantation: Preventing Post-operative Oedema).  We, at US Hair Restoration, use this option for patients who are known for their swelling side effects to minimize or eliminate the swelling after a hair restoration.