Are Steroid Injections A Good Option To Address Swelling After Hair Transplant?

Can you safely reduce massive swelling in transplanted areas with steroid shots without hurting the hairs?

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4 Doctor Answers | Asked by watson01 in Milwaukee, WI

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Steroid injections may cause complications

I would not recommend steroid injections since there could be complications at the site of the injection, such as tissue loss. Sometimes steroids are given orally before and after the transplant to reduce the chance of the swelling occurring and in severe cases, oral steroids may help to reduce the swelling. In any case, you should consult your physician for evaluation and management.

Steroid injections during hair transplantation surgery

This is a personal preference among surgeons. We have had success injecting a very low dose of Kenalog along with the tumuescent solution just prior to creating the graft recipient sites. Some of my colleagues instead give a medrol dose pack postoperatively. This also works well. Ask your surgeon what he/she prefers.

Steroid injections for forehead swelling after hair transplants?

Forehead swelling is very common for the first several days to 1 week after hair transplants. A Medrol dose pack could be taken (oral steroids) to help decrease the swelling. You should contact the surgeon that did your hair transplants for specific recommendations and treatment options.

Forehead swelling after hair transplants

Forehead swelling coming on 2-4 days after a hair transplant is somewhat frequent if corticosteroids are not given at the time of surgery or during the post operative period. If this preventative measure was not done or didn't work, a short course of steroids can be considered. Whatever the case, the swelling almost always subsides by 7 days. I prefer to inject a long acting cortisone type drug (triamcinolone) mixed in the local anesthetic we use to numb up the scalp. With this regimen,... more