HAIR TRANSPLANT FORUM

Follicuitis question? on 2300graft/strip
Dr Cole,
I had a Strip procedure done by you about 3 1/2 mos ago...things are going well except for the crown area. I have some inflamation going on in the form of a huge red bump..I know it is follicuitis, but was wondering if I just let it heal on its own will it go away. Is there any risk for infection by not doing anything.??.IE-trying to pop it! feels like a huge pimple. Do I need to come in and see you...It looks like I hit my head!

thanks

dontdonuhart, First i'm happy to hear that everything goes well with your growth...there is much more to come:)
Is there bleeding from the pimple?

thanks for the quick response forhair!
No, there is no bleeding...It is just like the other ones that I have popped or put Neosporin on them and they have all gone away!...this one is just really big and feels like a large lump on my head...But no Bleeding!

That is good news.
I thinks that the pimple is a reaction to the retained hair fragments in grafts that are not growing new hair yet...in other words "ingrown hairs".
You can read about it and what to do here:

http://www.forhair.com/hairtransplant/t ... ht=ingrown

anyway, i will let the docs answer this in more details

I agree. It sounds like an ingrown hair. If the area is red, tender, or painful, you can wet a washcloth with very hot water, wring it out, and apply it to the area. The moist heat will make it feel better and help to reduce inflammation.

When we graft hair to the thinning areas, the grafts go through a period of shock and they cease producing growing hair. This stunted hair growth will soon result in hair fall out from the grafts most of the time. I call this loss of hair "traumatic effluvium". Sometimes the hair does not fall out of the grafts. It remains even though the cells that produce hair are in a resting or dormant phase. These non-growing hairs are extruded from the dermal sheath that surrounds them, but they lie in the skin like a foreign body. The hairs will eventually stimulate some sort of foreign body reaction. This could be that the body simply walls the hair shaft off and it becomes a cyst like structure similar to a black head. Other times they become inflamed. when you pop the structure, the resting hair shaft is expelled and the problem solves itself. They must come to a head though before you can pop them. Like pimples, they often need to reach a mature state before you can expel the material inside and most importantly the offending structure, the retained hair spicule or fragment. I would apply a warm wash cloth to help the structure mature. when it is ready, you can express the hair. Do not allow the cloth to get too warm as you could burn your scalp. The recipient area is usually less sensitive after a procedure and you might not feel the warmth as well as you would had you not had the procedure. Test the cloth on your forearm first to check the temperature. Many people treat these with antibiotics, but this is probably over kill. if you would like a prescription for antibiotics, we will be happy to give you one.

I would be happy to look at them any time or you can send me a photo. These things tend to show up about the time your transplants begin to grow. Typically this is the third month. Try to remove any non-growing hairs. They will come out quite easily if you tug on them with tweezers or by grasping them between your thumb and index finger. They will come out like a needle comes out of hot butter. If you have to tug on the shaft, it is probably growing. We can do this for you if you like.

Also, scrub the top of your scalp with a wash cloth to get rid of the non-growing dormant hair fragments.

These will come out usually with the scabs, but with hair cycle biotin spray, the fragments do not come out with the scabs usually because the biotin spray helps to dissolve the scabs and make the scabs come off sooner, often before the hair fragments are ready to come out. This is a very common occurrence following a hair transplant.

hey dontdonuhart, i am interesting to know what is your age and if you can show your progress in photos?
i also would like to know why you choose strip over fit (i am planning a procedure and didn't decided yet)
thanks.

I am in my early thirties...with a previous hair transplant of 800gfts by nuhart hair clinic...not terrible results, but Dr Cole should have been my first choice...anyway, that is why I did Strip..I already had a scar and never ever plan to shave my head!!!

I am 3 1/2 months post op and can shave to a 4 guard with no detection at all...I could probably go 3..but no need...

I have no pictures because my digital camera was stolen 1 mos before my procedure and I have not got around to getting another one..

so far I am just now seeing a little difference in the thickness on my head and crown...and it is only been 3 1/2 mos...very excited for the next 7 mos to see what happens...then back to Dr Cole to fix the hairline...

hope this helps?

it will be interesting to see how you progress. Usualy, when you graft into existing hair, you will not see any improvement for 8 to 12 months. you see growth in bald skin in 3 months usually. we have modified our storage mediums lately and we using our graft optimization device that we applied for a patent on. This device keeps tissue at a constant 3 degrees celsius. our new hypothermosol solution is specifically designed for low temperatures. Tissue does not like fluctuations in temperature. this is why the Graft Optimization Device is so important. We are hoping for faster and better results with this device. typically we use the device predominatly in FIT cases since we have only one unit at this time. they are very costly to make. If we see significant differences, we will look for more cost effective ways to produce them. we have built new cooling systems for the strip cases too. we monitor the temps ever hour with a laser temperature gun. Hypothermosol also has antioxidants in additon to being a perfect cold storage solution. If you chill tissue in traditional solutions, they cells are prone to burst. Most physicains chill in traditional solutions. this may be why some results do not meet expectations with some other clinics. Hypothermosol is very expensive too. One liter costs over 200.00. this is compared to a liter of normal saline that is used in most offices and costs less than 5.00.

Hey Dr Cole,
So far, so good with my HT! I swear I am seeing improvments even though you grafted into existing, but thinning spots..I am exicted to get the hairline corrected in 08. It sounds like all the advancements you have made will really put your practice that much futher above the rest.

Thank you for your talents...you truly change lives!!!