My dermatologist just recommended me to take accutane for my acne. I’ve been doing some research and I read somewhere that one should be off of accutane for atleast 6 months before having a cosmetic surgery, because of scarring reasons
No one really knows for sure. Accutane is supposed to affect the sebaceous glands and as such it had an affect on skin resurfacing. It has not been studied in hair transplant surgery, but the general rule of thumb is that you should be off Accutane for 6 months prior to a hair transplant. I’ve done a strip on a patient who did not tell me he was taking Accutane until after his surgery. He healed just fine. Patients on Accutane probably respond well to FUE. Going with the general rule though, you should wait 6 months after stopping Accutane prior to having a hair transplant.
There are also a few reports of hair loss on Accutane.
You can probably have a hair transplant and safely start Accutane a month later, but this has not been studied either.
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Ever since my surgery, I have been losing ALOT of hair. Now, I have
heard about shock-loss, however, I though shock-loss was suppose to
happen further down the road (2-8 weeks after surgery). I have also heard about HAIRS BEING “TRANSECTED”, which will subsequently fall out.
Now, I am really afraid that the large volume of hairs I am losing is from TRANSECTION because the surgeon implanted ALOT of hairs in “crowded” areas and therefore, A high probability for transection. Also, the surgeon did NOT shave my head to minimize the chances of “transection”. Taking this all into consideration, what do you think?
Shock loss generally begins about 2 weeks after a procedure. Since your surgery was 2 weeks ago, I would think that the hair loss you are experiencing is most likely shock loss at this point. However, you also indicate that you experienced increased hair loss immediately following surgery; this is not typical of shock loss. You may simply be experiencing a normal progression of hair loss. Hair loss will often go dormant for a long period and then suddenly resume at any point in time, including right after a surgery.
Skilled and experienced physicians will rarely transect hairs when they make their recipient sites; less gifted and experienced ones may. If a large portion of your hair was transected during surgery, I would expect them to start falling out and shedding very soon after a procedure. Top physicians do not need to shave the recipient area, but it does help any physician do a better job of making the recipient sites and placing the grafts when the head is shaved (due to improved visibility).
During one of Tiger Woods’ recent press appearances, he said that he had received PRP, or platelet rich plasma, treatments:
Posted on NBC news: Tiger Admits to Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy, What’s That?
PRP treatments have grown increasingly common in the sports medicine world in recent years. During a PRP procedure, the patient’s blood is drawn and put in a centrifuge to separate out platelet-containing plasma from the red blood cells. The plasma is then injected back into the patient’s injury. PRP treatment is thought to accelerate and/or maximize the signals an injury site sends to the body in order to continue the healing process.
At The Cole Hair Transplant, Dr. Cole now provides PRP treatment to our hair transplant patients. The PRP is administered in the form of injections into the extraction sites to improve dermal healing. For hair transplant purposes, PRP could potentially help reduce the occurrence of hypopigmentation (“white spotting”) among some of our patients. We are also investigating evidence that PRP treatment may improve graft yield; one study found PRP improved graft growth by as much as 15%. We will continue to explore the possibilities and benefits that PRP may provide for our patients. To learn more about PRP, feel free to call The Cole Hair Transplant group at 1-800-368-4247.
Tiger Admits to PRP [3:26m]: A past CIT patient recently contacted us to ask about a small pimple-like bump on his frontal hairline with a tiny hair fragment on top. He mentioned that, immediately following the procedure, he had noticed a few other such bumps but that they disappeared within a few days. This patient wanted to know if a particular medication or treatment could remedy the issue.
This is a fairly common occurrence following a hair transplant procedure. These “bumps” are due to retained hair fragments following surgery. Patients commonly mistake them for ingrown hairs but they are actually a sign that new hairs are trying to grow in where old non-growing fragments are still present. Medication will not help but the good news is that there’s a very simple treatment for it. The patient simply needs to use a pair of tweezers to remove any short, non-growing hair fragments from the scalp. These non-growing fragments should slide out easily. Another possible treatment is to scrub the scalp with soap and a wash cloth to try and remove any non-growing hair fragments. These “bumps” are absolutely nothing to be concerned about and actually indicate that new hair is trying to come in.
When and how does the new hair grow in after my hair transplant ?
Many people ask this question during and after their hair transplant; some actually think the hair will all continue to grow and they will have their “new head of hair” immediately. Unfortunately, most individuals have to accept delayed gratification as part of the transplant experience!
When the grafts are placed in the balding areas, they indeed may continue to grow for a few weeks. However, by about three weeks, the hairs begin to rapidly shed and soon most all of them are gone. The good news is that the follicle cells, the ones that make the new hair shaft that grows up and out, are still lying dormant under the skin.
At about three to four months, the first hairs begin to sprout through the scalp. At first, all new hairs will be finer, and slightly less pigmented than they will eventually be after some growth time. It is important to note that the grafted hairs do not all begin to come in simultaneously; they generally sprout in a “staggered” fashion, which means that each month some new sprouts will be noticed emerging from the scalp, until they all have grown in! Full growth will have occurred, on average, after about 10 to 12 months; full ingrowth may sometimes take a little longer on second and subsequent procedures.
Of course, the full cosmetic effect may not be apparent right away. This is because length and caliber of hair, as well as density, contribute to coverage. Once the hair has grown long enough and each shaft has become thick enough, then the full coverage will be apparent and the welcome decrease in the appearance of thinning and baldness will be noticeable.
