Answering this question largely depends on the method and precision with which you undergo hair transplantation and on your ability to follow post-op instructions. Although initial pain near donor and transplant areas should be expected, overall, they should heal more quickly over time. Find the best Hair transplant in Turkey.
Step one of a kidney donor procedure involves applying local anesthetic to the donor site, which usually feels like pinching before eventually becoming numb within seconds to minutes.
Numbing
Local anesthesia applied to your scalp provides a numbing effect that lasts several hours, enabling the surgeon and their team to operate without you experiencing physical pain. Once this numbing wears off, however, mild discomfort may arise at implanted hair sites as they heal.
Your surgeon can harvest hair follicles using either Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT, also known as the “strip method”) or punching round follicles out using pneumatic pressure with a tube-like instrument (Follicular Unit Extraction or FUE). FUT leaves behind more noticeable linear scars on your back; these scars should eventually fade over time.
Once harvested, your harvested follicles are transplanted onto areas of thinning or baldness on your scalp. For this process to work effectively, the surgeon must first clean and numb the area to be transplanted as they create holes or slits using a scalpel or needle and delicately place each graft individually – they may enlist help from other members of their team when planting the grafts – likely leaving some soreness, itching or crusting as they heal up completely.
Stitches
Your surgeon will use stitches to secure the grafts. After surgery, it’s essential to keep your head elevated when resting for several days afterward to prevent dislodging and falling out of any grafts that remain. Swimming or diving activities might need to be postponed temporarily – your doctor should provide recommendations specific to your case.
Follicular unit strip surgery (FUSS) and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE). With FUSS, your surgeon will cut a strip from behind your scalp before dissecting each follicle into individual ones – this method requires stitching as well as considerable bleeding but requires far less invasive action compared to FUE, which requires no stitching at all.
As soon as your anesthetic wears off, you may experience pain and tenderness in the area where your transplant was carried out due to traumatized scalp tissue. Over time, however, this discomfort should subside as incisions heal and as time passes by.
An effective way to relieve pain is taking an over-the-counter or prescription painkiller, depending on how intense it is. Speak to your physician and select an effective medication based on how you’re experiencing discomfort.
Painkillers
Hair transplant surgery is a surgical process, so it should come as no surprise that patients may experience some post-op discomfort afterward. However, any pain should be mild and short-lived; by following their surgeon’s postoperative care instructions closely, they should experience minimal recovery pain.
Taken correctly, painkillers can help alleviate any post-surgery discomfort. At Wimpole Clinic, our team usually supplies a pack of these medications to our patients for use for two nights post-surgery; alternatively, they may be purchased from local pharmacies. They include paracetamol and ibuprofen, which are effective at managing both swelling and pain.
Swelling may cause the most significant discomfort after surgery and should be expected; to help ease it on the first night, the use of a pillow may be helpful; sleeping on your side to protect grafts may also prevent irritation from rubbing against it directly.
Avoiding extreme exercise is also crucial, as this can cause blood loss or damage to the grafts. Gentle exercises like walking and yoga may prove more helpful for recovery. In addition, direct sunlight should be avoided to reduce its harmful effects on the scalp.
Recovery
After your hair transplant procedure, it is recommended that you rest for several days post-surgery. Avoid physically demanding activities, and do not touch or rub the healing area. Sleep on a soft pillow to reduce any discomfort. Mild pain in both donor and recipient areas may arise within a few days, however this can be managed through over-the-counter painkillers.
Some transplanted areas of their scalps may experience scabbing. This is normal and will fade over time. Be mindful when washing your hair with warm, lukewarm water and gentle shampoos to minimize damage to follicles; avoid power showers and hair dryers to protect the follicles further, and hats or pullover shirts, which could interfere with healing are best avoided as these could impede on its success.
FUT and FUE are both forms of hair transplant procedures, with FUT being more invasive. When performing FUT, a physician removes a strip of skin from behind your head in order to collect individual follicular grafts that will later be transplanted onto other parts of your scalp as needed by a surgeon. FUE is less invasive as only small incisions need to be made by the physician in order to harvest these follicular grafts; thus, there’s no need for stitches and faster recovery periods – most patients can resume regular activities within days following this type of procedure.