First few weeks post Eyebrow Transplant. What to expect.

Greetings,

Today I will discuss the first few weeks following Eyebrow Transplant surgery. Eyebrow Transplantation has become a much more popular procedure as of late. More people are discovering how effective and natural the procedure can be when performed by the right surgeon. I was one of the first surgeons in the country performing the procedure and as such have had the opportunity to perform a great number of cases. In addition, I have refined the overall technique in ways that greatly improve both the immediate post operative period and the final result.

In a typical Eyebrow Transplant procedure I will place between 100-300 single hair grafts per eyebrow. The number depends on the patients facial symmetry, gender, hair color, and eyebrow hair loss, among other factors. The entire procedure is performed under local anesthetic. In the immediate post operative period I tell patients that they should expect to see some swelling around the eyes and possibly even some bruising around the eyes. This typically peaks at around day 3 and resolves by day 5. Within 24 hours of the grafts being placed they form tiny scabs around the grafts that look like little grains of sand. Immediately after the procedure the patient gets a good idea of how the eyebrows will eventually look because I place the eyebrow hairs at about the same length as typical eyebrow hairs. Within a week most of the crusts fall out and a few of the transplanted hairs may fall out, but for the most part the patient is left with most of the new transplanted eyebrow hairs. Beginning in the second week the transplanted eyebrow hair grafts begin to fall out. Usually by the end of the first month, most of the transplanted eyebrow hair grafts have fallen out and the patient is left with eyebrows similar to what they had before the procedure. During this “in between” time the patient may continue to put on eyebrow makeup just as they did before the procedure.

At around 3 months post eyebrow transplant the new eyebrow hair grafts begin to grow in. Usually the patient will notice more hair between 4-6 months post operatively and at 12 months the patient will see the full result from the eyebrow transplant procedure. Below I will show a patient of mine pre operatively and 2 weeks post operatively to give you an idea of the typical look in the immediate post operative period.

If you have additional questions about Eyebrow Transplants please feel free to contact me.

All the best,

Marc Dauer, M.D.

Tags: Eyebrow Transplant, Eyebrow Transplantation, Los Angeles

Post Hair Transplant Timeline

Greetings,

Today I will discuss the general timeline post hair transplant. Typically within 24 hours after the procedure tiny crusts that look like grains of sand form around the transplanted hairs whether they are on the scalp, eyebrow, face, or body. These tiny scabs begin to fall off around post op days 3-4 and are usually gone within 7-10 days. Keeping the grafts moist or applying an antibiotic ointment may loosen the crusts and have them fall off earlier. Most of the transplanted hairs being to fall out at around 2 weeks post operatively and usually by the end of the first month post transplant most of the transplanted hairs are all gone and the patient looks like they did prior the procedure. Typically , the hair begins to grow back at around 12 weeks. The patient usually does not notice any change until around 5-6 months, at which point approximately 50% of the new hair growth may be seen. Full growth is usually not achieved until 12 months post procedure and continued growth may be seen for up to 24 months post procedure. Patients who have undergone a second or third procedure may see a slightly delayed growth timeline.

I hope this information is helpful to all of those considering Hair Restoration.

All the best,

Marc Dauer, MD

Tags: Eyebrow Transplant, Hair Loss, Hair restoration, Hair Transplantation, Hair Transplantation Hair Restoration, Hair Transplants, Los Angeles

Private Teaching For Physicians In Hair and Eyebrow Transplants

Greetings,

I just completed a private teaching course with a very skilled physician from Saudi Arabia, Dr. Wissam Adada. He works in a well known medical institution in Riyadh, and came to my clinic to learn my approach and techniques in Hair and Eyebrow Restoration. I always enjoy these teaching opportunities because it allows me to work with a physician one to one and share my knowledge in the field. We had a nice combination of cases including an eyebrow transplant and a number of hair transplants both via follicular unit extraction using the new SAFE scribe and strip harvesting. I look forward to keeping in touch with Dr. Adada as his practice grows and continuing to be a resource for him in the field of Hair and Eyebrow Restoration.

All the best,

Marc Dauer, M.D.

Tags: Hair Restoration Teaching, Hair Transplant Teaching

FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) To Cover Donor Strip Scars In Hair Transplantation

Greetings all,

Today I would like to discuss the issue of donor strip scars and how to approach them when they are too wide, or noticeable, or the patient just wishes to cut their hair very short. In the world of Hair Restoration today there are many physicians trying to push the envelope of grafts in a single session. Physicians trying to perform 4000, 5000, or even 6000 grafts in a single session. Using the strip method, the only way to achieve these numbers is by taking a donor strip that is very wide. This puts undue tension on the skin closure and can then result in very wide donor scars. Sometimes though, even under the best of circumstances and a proper closure, a wider than expected donor scar can also occur. I have been seeing more and more of these patients from other physicians recently.

After much experience I am finding that when you attempt to excise these scars, often times they will just come back again. The best approach to this situation is to harvest grafts via FUE ( Follicular Unit Extraction) and then transplant the grafts into the scarred areas that are devoid of hair or have very little hair in them. Typically the grafts grow nicely through the scar tissue and provide hair coverage of the scar which acts to conceal the scar thus making it more feasible to cut the hair short.

I have included photos below of a patient who had multiple strip scars from a procedure performed by another physician. The ‘before’ photos show the donor area shaved and the donor scars. The ‘after’ photo shows the FUE punctate sites (these heal in about a week) and the hair immediately transplanted into the donor scars. A difference in the donor scars with hair transplanted into them is immediately visible and when the hair grows in this should provide nice coverage to the donor scars and allow the patient to cut their hair much shorter than was possible before.

I hope this sheds some light on the topic.

All the best,

Marc S. Dauer, MD, ABHRS

Tags: follicular unit extraction, FUE, Hair restoration, Hair Transplantation, Hair Transplantation Hair Restoration, Hair Transplantation Hair Restoration in Younger Patien, Los Angeles