After surgery, the transplant area will be cleaned of blood and crust. Don't touch the scalp until the next day. Wait about 18 hours before resuming any care. You can take a shower (body and donor area only), without wetting the recipient area. Just be careful, because movement could increase the risk of popping the grafts out. You can take a bath, but do not submerge the head.

* Avoid bleeding and high pressure on your head because it could dislodge the grafts !

WHAT CAN INCREASE SCALP PRESSURE ?

1. Avoid sexual activity for 3 days.
2. Avoid lifting heavy items. Do not lift for 1 week (for FIT) and 2 weeks (for STRIP)
3. You may do a light workout in 3 days for FIT and 1 week in STRIP case.
4. Don’t bump your head. (car doors, shelves, shower head, trees….)
5. Don’t bend over to pick up an item on the ground for 1 week.
6. Don’t hit your recipient area with direct shower pressure for 2 weeks, use a cup to gently rinse.

WHAT CAN INCREASE THE BLEEDING ?

1. MEDICATION: Aspirin, NSAID (Ibuprofin, Motrin, Advil), and vitamins in general. Avoide

these for 5 days..

1. ALCOHOL: Avoid for 3 days.
2. CAFFEINE: Coffee, Coke, Tea, ect. Tend to increase pressure, therefore increases bleeding. Decrease the quantity you drink.
3. Some outside factors could impair the growth of your grafts:

A. Direct sunshine exposure for a long period of time. Avoid outdoor activities, or wear a hat

and use a strong sunscreen.

Avoid sun exposure for 3-6 months.

B. SMOKING: Decrease as much as you can.

C. Swimming pools because of the chlorine. Avoid pools for 2 weeks.

IN SUMMARY, JUST TAKE IT EASY FOR ONE WEEK.

RECIPIENT AND DONOR AREA CARE

It is mandatory to wash your hair at least once a day. We also encourage our patient to keep their recipient area moist, (or wet) to decrease the itching and speed ip the healing process.

Our surgical kit has a special product that you can spray every hour for three days post -op, and then you can space that out until the product is finished. One week is enough.

(We have an alternative for those who don't use the surgical kit).

RECIPIENT AREA (BOTH STRIP AND FIT)

18 hours after your procedure should be the best time to start washing your hair. You can use a regular non medicated shampoo (baby shampoo is best) or use the one we provide specifically for hair transplant. (AnagenX or GraftCyte)

Instructions: for 1st week.

1. Gently wet your hair.
2. Lather the shampoo in your hand and make it soapy.
3. Apply the shampoo to your head. Just dab it up and down, (do not scrub).
4. Rinse it by gently pouring water with a cup. (Some people block with their hand, the shower pressure and let the liquid flow gently onto the scalp)
5. Dry your hair using a bath cloth (just dab it) or hair dryer, turned on cool setting.
6. Use a normal saline solution. You can also mix a gallon of distilled water with nine tablespoons

of regular salt and spray that on your head.

Instructions for 2nd week:

Repeat the same events the second week. But, you can start massaging your scalp with fingertips

while applying the shampoo. This helps the scabs to fall off. After the second week, you can go back

to a regular shower. We recommend you rub the scalp aggressively to remove the remaining scabs.

DONOR AREA

Be aggressive the day after the procedure. Rub the area with the shampoo and hit with a good shower

pressure to rinse it. After drying the area, apply a layer of Bacitracin or Neosporin for two to three days.

In STRIP case, we have (absorbable or dissolvable) sutures that will dissolve on their own around 3 to

4 weeks post-op. After 12 days if the sutures are bothering you, they can be removed either by us or by a local

doctor.

WHAT TO EXPECT POST-OP?

DONOR

Day 1 Post-op: You may have some oozing and pain. Just apply pressure with a bath cloth for up to 5 minutes. FOR PAIN (This is more applicable in STRIP than in FIT cases). We have prescribed Vicodin (pain killer) and you can apply an ice bag to the donor area only (20 min on - 20 minutes off). It reduces the pain and reduces the tightness sensation in the back in STRIP cases. Do not apply an ice pack to the grafted or recipient area.

Day 3 Post-op: You may have some swelling in the forehead and eyes. To avoid that, start taking an anti-swelling medication. (Prednisone for 5 days starting day 1, post-op) You may also apply a head band over the forehead to collect the fluid above the band. Then use your fingers to sweep the fluid toward the sides of the head so that the fluid can drain lateral to the eyes rather than into the eyes. Swelling will cause you no long term harm though it can frighten you. If you do swell, apply ice pack to the front. (15 min. on - 30 min. off) Your scabs will turn brown with crust on it. This is normal.

Day 4 to 7 Post-op: The scabs will start to fall off. This will occur for a two week period. The scalp usually turns pink, due to the inflammation and increased blood flow to the traumatized area. It can last one to three months in some patients and gradually dissipates. 3 Months Post-op: The first growth begins to appear. 6 Months Post-op: This is a good time to schedule a follow up consultation to assess the growth. (50 to 60 % of your hair should be growing)

MEDICATIONS

a) Pain Medication. Vicodin-0.5mg. (Acetaminophen and Hydrocodone) 1-2 pills by mouth, every 4-6 hours as needed. Start taking just after the procedure to control pain. Many patients have no pain, so it is not always necessary to take the Vicodin. Some side effects of this medication are drowsiness and dizziness. Don’t do anything that will require you to be alert such as driving, or manipulating sharp instruments.

(b) Sleeping Medication. Ambien-10 mg. 1 pill at bedtime, as needed.

(c) Anti swelling Medication. Prednisone. Decreasing dosage for 5 days. (20mg, 15mg, 10mg, 5mg and 5 mg). Take 4 pills the first day, 3 pills the second day, 2 pills the third day, 1 pill the fourth day and 1 pill the fifth day. Take it with food, as it may upset your stomach.

(d) Antibiotic. Cephalexin. 1 pill twice a day, until gone. We typically give this only with body hair transplantation to the head. Please notify us if you have any allergies to antibiotics.

(e) Cream. Hydrocortisone Cream-2.5%. Put on DONOR AREA every 8 hours for the first week. This is for inflammation and to promote healing.

(f) Tylenol Extra Strength and Ibuprofen. Tylenol Extra Strength: 2 pills, 3 times a day. This is for minor pain, as in FIT. Ask us prior to taking Ibuprofen.

All the medications that you take, which are not vital or necessary, please refrain from until 3 to 5 days after the procedure. You may have your first haircut or color/dye 14 days after your procedure. Do not shave your head with a razor for at least one month.