| |
|
|
|
|
Initial
Consultation |
| |
 |
At the initial consultation you will meet with
one of our consultants. They are trained by Dr. Weiss to do a thorough
evaluation of
your hair, and determine precisely the cost, number of procedures,
and the approximate number of grafts that you will need.
|
| |
|
After determining all of the details, you will
then schedule your appt.
The consultant will try his best to accommodate your schedule. The
length of time that your procedure will take, depends, among other
factors, the number of grafts that you receive. |
| |
|
|
 |
|
The
Week Before Your Surgery |
| |
|
The week before your surgery you will follow a specific set of pre-operative
instructions. These instructions are easy to follow, but they are
critical in making your procedure run smoothly. |
| |
|
|
 |
|
The
Morning of Your Procedure |
| |
|
The day of your procedure, you will eat a substantial
meal. This will help to ensure that your blood sugar will stay stable
throughout you’re the procedure. Because the anesthetic that
we use raises
your metabolism, it is not uncommon to experience a drop in
blood sugar during the course of your surgery. For this reason we
keep a variety of snacks and soft drinks available at all times.
Because a variety of factors go into determining the length of a
procedure, it is often hard to estimate the amount of time needed
for
each individual. Consequently, the staff occasionally runs behind.
To
avoid having a patient wait at the office, we prefer that any clients
scheduled in the afternoon, call us when they are getting ready to
leave to make sure that we are on schedule. If for some reason we
are behind, we will give you a new time to come (usually within an
hour of your scheduled appointment.) |
| |
|
|
 |
|
When
You Arrive For Your Procedure |
| |
|
Upon arrival, you will be asked top fill out forms (consent form,
medical questionnaire, prescription info, etc.). |
| |
|
You will meet with our doctor. He will recap what was
decided at the original consultation. He will go
over how many grafts you will be getting, the effect that those grafts
will have on your overall appearance, the location of the grafts, and
plans for future surgeries. He will also offer any
recommendations that he has regarding your procedure, and how to get
the best possible look. |
| |
|
After everything has been explained, you will be taken to one of
our
surgical rooms. Because our procedure can be time consuming, it is
at this time that we have you pick out a movie or two that you would
prefer to watch to pass the time. (We have selection of movies, or
you
can bring your own. |
| |
|
|
 |
|
The
Procedure Itself |
| |
|
One of our surgical techs will prepare you for the procedure.
Most patients are given 3 medications at the beginning of
the procedure: a sedative to help you relax, an antibiotic to combat
any infection, and a medication to help keep any swelling to a minimum. |
| |
|
Next we will prepare the donor site by clipping your hair, shaving
the area, and
finally measuring it. (The amount of donor tissue is determined by
the
amounts of grafts that we are doing.) |
| |
|
After the donor site is prepared, you will be given your initial
anesthetic. We use two local anesthetics – Lidocain and Marcaine,
which are similar to what a dentist uses. These local
anesthetics are administered using a dental syringe. There is usually
a burning sensation caused by the anesthetic. This is very short-lived
and
is followed by a numbing sensation. |
| |
|
After allowing the anesthetic to take effect, the doctor will come
in,
remove the donor tissue and suture the donor site. |
| |
|
When the donor tissue has been removed, it is given to surgical
techs to be dissected. There is a period while the techs dissect grafts;
During this time, you may have a snack, watch a movie, take a nap,
Stretch your legs, etc. |
| |
|
When a majority of the grafts have been prepared, we will begin to
anesthetize the area where the grafts are going to be placed. Additional
anesthetic that was used for the donor area is used for the
grafted area. Although a burning sensation is felt in the grafted area,
it is usually less irritating than in the donor area because the
anesthetic in the donor area causes the receptor area to be slightly
numb. |
| |
|
When the top of the head is completely numb, the doctor will begin
to make the receptor sites for the grafts. Because the receptor sites
are very tiny and can be very hard to see, the doctor will usually
make anywhere from 50-100 extra sites to ensure that we will be able
to place all of the grafts. (Grafts are never wasted.) |
| |
|
When the doctor has made all of the sites, and a final graft count
has
been determined, the techs begin to place the grafts into the
receptor sites. This part of the procedure can take anywhere from 30
minutes to 2 hours, depending on the number of grafts to be placed
and the amount of existing hair that we have to work around. |
| |
|
|
 |
|
Your
post-operative instructions |
| |
|
When nearly all of the grafts have been placed, the doctor will go
over
all of your post-operative instructions. (see post-op instructions
for a complete list of instructions) |
| |
|
At this time, the doctor will give you your post-op medications and
go
over all of the directions with you. Generally, patients are given
medications for swelling and a pain medication. |
| |
|
Finally, the doctor will check over all of your
grafts to make sure that they are properly placed. |
| |
|
Following surgery, we are available 24 hours a day to answer any
questions that you may have. |
| |
|
|
 |
|
Getting
your sutures out |
| |
|
Generally patients are asked to keep their sutures in for 7-10 days. |
| |
|
Although you may have any medically trained person remove your sutures,
we prefer that our clients come into our location and allow us to remove
them. This allows us to make sure that everything is healing properly
and go over any questions or
concerns that you may have. |
| |
|
|
Hair Transplant
Pre-Operative Instructions |
| |
1. |
Avoid the use of aspirin, vitamin E, and alcohol for one week
prior to surgery. |
| |
2. |
Avoid coloring your hair for one week prior to surgery. |
| |
3. |
Allow your hair to grow a little longer than usual so that the
hair in the back will hide the suture line of the donor site. |
| |
4. |
Wash your hair normally the night before, or the morning of surgery |
| |
5. |
Make sure you eat something relatively light before surgery. |
| |
6. |
If you feel you would like to be sedated or that it will be necessary,
you will need a driver to take you home. |
| |
7. |
We can call your prescriptions to your pharmacy a few days prior
to surgery if you wish. However, we do distribute medications at our
clinic for a relatively low cost. Most of our clients prefer to get
their medications at the time of surgery. |
| |
8. |
If you have any questions or concerns regarding your surgery,
feel free to call us at any time. |
| |
9. |
Keep in mind that it takes from 7 – 12 months to see the
result of this procedure |
| |
|
|
Hair Transplantation
Post-Operative Instructions
|
| |
1. |
Do not use aspirin. Pain medication will be prescribed. You may
use Advil, Tylenol, or Motrin. |
| |
2. |
Sleep with your head elevated on 3 pillows or in a recliner for
the first three days following surgery to minimize swelling. (Protect
your pillow or recliner with a plastic bag and a towel.) |
| |
3. |
Apply an ice pack to the grafted area as much as possible during
the first 24 hrs. We recommend that you use Ziploc bags filled with
ice and water because they are made of silicone and won’t stick
to your hair. |
| |
4. |
You may rinse your hair the night following surgery, but do not
let the shower hit the grafts. Use a paper cup and gently pour water
over the grafted area, but do not let the flow of water hit the grafts
directly. Gently pat the grafted area dry with paper towels, or use
a hair dryer on a cool setting. |
| |
5. |
You may shampoo your hair on the 2nd day after surgery (3rd night
counting the day of surgery.) Use the shampoo that your normally use,
and pat the shampoo on the grafts, rinsing off with the paper cup as
before. |
| |
6. |
Your scalp may itch due to healing. Do not use your fingernails
on your scalp at all. If you have an itch, just rub your scalp gently. |
| |
7. |
It is normal for the transplanted hairs to fall out when the crusts
fall off. It will take approximately 7-12 months to see the full effect
of the procedure |
| |
8. |
If you have any questions, we are available 24 hours a day. |
| |
|
|
