I had a 2500 strip graft session performed on Friday by Dr. Grant Koher of High Point, NC on Friday. The session lasted the better part of the day as I arrived at 9:00 for Pre-Op procedures. I would guess the actual surgical procedure began around 10:00-10:30 and lasted, with some breaks included, until about 6:30 PM. The recipient area basically included my entire scalp, concentrated more in the frontal area and less in the crown.
I drove home. The Doctor and his assistants mentioned to me that I was a bit "oozier" than most patients. I noticed when I arrived home that I had bled some into the medical cap provided me. This stopped shortly after arriving home.
Yesterday, Saturday, I honestly didn't feel that much discomfort. My scalp in the donor area around the sutures felt very tight and unnatural, but the recipient area had no discomfort at all. I washed my hair for the first time, gently patting shampoo into the scalp in the recipient area and making gentle circles along the donor area as instructed by the Doctor. As the day and night wore on it felt as though some of the tightness was going away.
Today, Sunday I slept late and may just stay in all day. I have noticed that my donor area and back and side scalp feels very tight today. I believe this is due to swelling, which I just noted when looking in the mirror. If someone did not know me, they would not see it, however, I can that my forehead and temples are swolen somewhat. My head looks like a big old "noggin" right now.
I have two great concerns for the coming days. For some reason, I am very concerned about my donor area becoming infected. Dr. Koher gave me a short supply of an antibiotic, but I may call his office tomorrow to see if I can get a slighty prolonged supply. I was also given a Copper Peptide solution to spray upon the recipient area to promote healing, but no mention was made about the donor area other than washing it.
Also, that brings me to a question. Do any of you folks have advice for treating the donor area during the post-op period?
My other concern is this. I return to work Monday. My hair is short and I didn't grow it long enough to cover the donor scar or sutures. I thought it would grow quicker than it did. Anyway, the combination of my recipient areas thousands of scabs and the massive sutures in my back and side scalp make me look like "Frankenstein's Monster." I work as a Supervisor at a manufacturing facility and normally wear a hat, so that is what I will continue to do. However, I like to joke around with folks, and this they like to joke around with me. I fear that someone will grab my hat or something causing me to lose some grafts or expose my currently mangled head, which would be very embarrassing. Fortunately, I am working with a very reduced crew for the next week, so that lessens the number of people I will be in contact with a great deal. However, I have considered telling the HR manager that I had an outpatient surgery recently and that I am somewhat disfigured just to let someone there know the situation. He is bound by privacy and medical laws so I am not concerned about him telling others there. I just want someone to know. I also wish I had planned to take some time off for this.
Another comment I have about this. I have literally told no one about this. Not my parents, sister, close friends, etc. I didn't realize just how difficult this would be to hide post-op. I work second shift so I don't have a lot of contact with alot of my friends, family, etc for much of the week anyway. Still, I will be very glad for my hair near the donor area to grow enough to hide the sutures and for the sutures to come out. Honestly, if I could fast forward about six months or just stay at home for the next six months, I would be very happy.
I just wanted to share my thoughts and see if they were normal or not.
I drove home. The Doctor and his assistants mentioned to me that I was a bit "oozier" than most patients. I noticed when I arrived home that I had bled some into the medical cap provided me. This stopped shortly after arriving home.
Yesterday, Saturday, I honestly didn't feel that much discomfort. My scalp in the donor area around the sutures felt very tight and unnatural, but the recipient area had no discomfort at all. I washed my hair for the first time, gently patting shampoo into the scalp in the recipient area and making gentle circles along the donor area as instructed by the Doctor. As the day and night wore on it felt as though some of the tightness was going away.
Today, Sunday I slept late and may just stay in all day. I have noticed that my donor area and back and side scalp feels very tight today. I believe this is due to swelling, which I just noted when looking in the mirror. If someone did not know me, they would not see it, however, I can that my forehead and temples are swolen somewhat. My head looks like a big old "noggin" right now.
I have two great concerns for the coming days. For some reason, I am very concerned about my donor area becoming infected. Dr. Koher gave me a short supply of an antibiotic, but I may call his office tomorrow to see if I can get a slighty prolonged supply. I was also given a Copper Peptide solution to spray upon the recipient area to promote healing, but no mention was made about the donor area other than washing it.
Also, that brings me to a question. Do any of you folks have advice for treating the donor area during the post-op period?
My other concern is this. I return to work Monday. My hair is short and I didn't grow it long enough to cover the donor scar or sutures. I thought it would grow quicker than it did. Anyway, the combination of my recipient areas thousands of scabs and the massive sutures in my back and side scalp make me look like "Frankenstein's Monster." I work as a Supervisor at a manufacturing facility and normally wear a hat, so that is what I will continue to do. However, I like to joke around with folks, and this they like to joke around with me. I fear that someone will grab my hat or something causing me to lose some grafts or expose my currently mangled head, which would be very embarrassing. Fortunately, I am working with a very reduced crew for the next week, so that lessens the number of people I will be in contact with a great deal. However, I have considered telling the HR manager that I had an outpatient surgery recently and that I am somewhat disfigured just to let someone there know the situation. He is bound by privacy and medical laws so I am not concerned about him telling others there. I just want someone to know. I also wish I had planned to take some time off for this.
Another comment I have about this. I have literally told no one about this. Not my parents, sister, close friends, etc. I didn't realize just how difficult this would be to hide post-op. I work second shift so I don't have a lot of contact with alot of my friends, family, etc for much of the week anyway. Still, I will be very glad for my hair near the donor area to grow enough to hide the sutures and for the sutures to come out. Honestly, if I could fast forward about six months or just stay at home for the next six months, I would be very happy.
I just wanted to share my thoughts and see if they were normal or not.
