Hair transplant in less then 3 days-just quit smoking. Is 24 hours sufficient time?

Question

Its saturday afternoon and I just quit smoking for my hair transplant. Im having the procedure on Tuesday morning. I was unable to quit a week before as most things i read suggest. My doctor said 24 hours was sufficient time. I want to know if this is enough time as long as i stay smoke free?

Kevin Ende, MD · Answer

The short answer is that smoking can have detrimental affects on any surgery in terms of healing and other complications.  Specifically with hair transplant, theoretically vasoconstriction from the nicotine can limit blood flow in the scalp which might limit your results.  You may also have healing issues if smoking at the time of surgery.  It would of course be better to quit completely immediately for your long term health aside from this upcoming hair transplant.

Levent Acar, MD · Answer

You can smoke 24 hours before surgery is ok, but after surgery we recommend to stop for at least 7 days

Victor Loria, DO · Answer

It is critical for all Hair Transplant patients to be aware of the effects of smoking and restrain from doing so for at least 2 weeks after the procedure. Nicotine and other chemicals found in cigarettes will lower the amount of blood circulating in your transplanted area, causing the new follicles to die before starting to grow. In addition, reduces the ability of blood to carry oxygen, hindering your body's natural ability to heal your wounds at a normal pace. Smoking also weakens your immune system as a whole. Lowering your immune response increases your chances of catching an infection after the hair transplant surgery.

Jae Pak, MD · Answer

Smoking is just bad for your health.  However, smoking is not a deal breaker for hair transplant surgery.If the surgery fails, smoking would be one of the last on the list for the reasons why it may have failed.

Michael Vories, MD · Answer

24 hours should be fine. The issue with smoking and any dermatology procedure is that nicotine is a vasoconstrictor and can interfere with wound healing. The most important issue is not smoking for the first week or two after the procedure, not before the procedure.

Ali Gurlek, MD · Answer

Thank you for your question and photos
the number of grafts a patient will need depends on the thickness of their hair and the extent of their hair loss, which can be determined by the Norwood Scale below.
During a hair transplant, grafts are usually removed from the ‘donor area’ located on the back of the scalp and relocated to a balding area. The back of the scalp makes a good extraction area due to the high volume of hair follicles that congregate within that region that are not affected by the balding process. Specialist surgeons will remove a small amount of tissue that can grow hair and relocate it to the desired area of the head without damaging them.

Artur Kierach, MD · Answer

It's enough time and very important is to no smoke after FUE for few days. 
Btw. I wish You to quit smoking eventually!

Matt Tahsini, MD · Answer

Hello and thank you for your question. I suggest you don’t smoke at least 24 hours before your transplant. That being said, the more time you quit smoking the better. The reason is because no smoking will make the healing process go faster. Best wishes to you.Dr. T

William Rassman, MD (retired) · Answer

Yes, if you stopped smoking 3 days before the hair transplant and don't go back on it, 3 days is fine.

Hair transplant in less then 3 days-just quit smoking. Is 24 hours sufficient time?

Answers (9)

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