I picked some transplant scabs and some grafts came with it. Does it mean I lost the grafts being at 13 days post-op? (Photos)

Question

I’m 13 days PO Hair Transplant and my Recipient area has a lot of scabs that itch a LOT. Today I picked at some of them and made them come off because it was really itching, I couldn’t control myself. It hurt a little when I did that because the scabs weren’t loose. I saw some grafts attached to the scabs. Does it mean I lost the implants, even being 13 days PO? * the picture with the blue circle shows exactly the area where I removed the scabs. My skin is a little open there. Thank you!!!

Michael Vories, MD · Answer

Try your best not to pick at the scabs.  As long as there was no bleeding, it is unlikely that you disrupted the grafts, but any time the scabs are picked off, there is the chance that the tissue can come out and bleed.

William Woessner, MD · Answer

After 13 days post surgery, it is unlikely that you lost any viable grafts. Use Rogaine nightly and be patient.

Pramit Malhotra, MD · Answer

After 10 days, most grafts are fixed.  However, I understand the itching issue and even as a patient myself I think i scratched out a few grafts. Take heart that typically thousands were implanted so a dozen lost doesn't effect the final outcome.

Jeffrey Epstein, MD, FACS · Answer

Generally after 8 to 10 days, as the crusts fall off, there will be the hairs with them-  these are not the bulbs of the follicles, and thus there has been no damage most likely.

Farhad Ardesh, MD · Answer

Please try your best not to take it anymore at the scabs. Consider sitting on your hands are wearing mittens to preventing it. You should follow up with your hair transplant surgeon. Over the next couple weeks you’ll continue to see hair is falling out which is normal. It does not necessarily mean that the hair follicle has also come out. In about six months you’ll start to see new hairs grow from the follicle embedded under the skin. I wish you the best, Dr. Ardeshirpour

William Rassman, MD (retired) · Answer

I wrote a paper on the loss of grafts from picking scabs. The critical day seemed to be day 12, but you should never pick off grafts. If you did not wash them off on day one and day two, then leaving shampoo on it at 2 weeks for 10 minutes and then gently rubbing them with your finger tips usually take off the crusts

I picked some transplant scabs and some grafts came with it. Does it mean I lost the grafts being at 13 days post-op? (Photos)

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