What to Expect Day of Surgery

Pre-Operative Preparations
You will meet with the doctor and you will have ample one-on-one time to make sure all of your questions are answered. The office will coordinate the booking of your surgery and will provide you with detailed instructions, as well as your medications.
Both the staff and the doctor are willing and available to answer all of your questions.

The Day of Surgery
Once again, you will have the opportunity to meet with the doctor before your procedure. You will review the operative plan and any remaining questions you have will be answered. You should arrange for a ride to and from the office so that you can be comfortably medicated. The suite has a flat screen TV and music, but if you have a particular movie you would like to watch, please bring it with you, or request it from the office staff. We will do our best to supply it for you.

When all of your questions have been answered, your photographs taken, and your hairline designed, you will be given some medication to make you comfortable. The amount of medication you take is up to you. You can choose to be completely awake, to be drowsy, or to be fairly sleepy.

The donor area is prepared by shaving and is then numbed. The numbing process typically takes about ten to fifteen minutes and is slightly uncomfortable, but very tolerable. The staff is very sensitive and we will take as much time as necessary to make sure you are comfortable. When you are adequately numb, the doctor will harvest your donor hair.

If you are undergoing FUE (follicular unit extraction), there is no excision. The donor area is shaved to expose the follicles, which are then individually removed with a 1 mm or smaller instrument. There is no stitching in FUE.

If you are undergoing FUG (follicular unit grafting), the doctor makes a thin incision to remove a strip of hair follicles. The incision, which is very thin and shallow, is then meticulously closed with sutures. When healed, this area should be completely undetectable if your hair is of adequate length (at least one-half inch). Harvesting the donor hair usually takes between thirty and forty-five minutes. The remainder of your head is then anesthetized.

While your strip of donor hair is dissected into naturally occurring follicular units under microscopes, the doctor makes the sites where the hairs will be placed. This should take one or two hours, depending on the size of your case.

The final stage is the placement of your grafts, and this can take between two to four hours. You will be given detailed post-operative instructions. You will go home with a light dressing that can be removed once you are home. You may wear a loose cap, but not any tight-fitting hats or knit caps.

On the evening of your surgery you may have some minor discomfort, but pain medications should make you comfortable. The doctor will check on you at home with a call. You may ooze a little from the back of your head. Congratulations! You’ve just restored your own growing hair.