Here are a few frequently asked questions we have for your general inquiry:

How do you relocate hair grafts once broken down into follicular units?

The hair grafts (or follicular units) are transplanted based on the individual needs of the patient. The doctor will draw the hairline at your initial consult and right before the procedure and discuss it in detail with the patient. Designing the hairline has to do with the degree of baldness in each area of the scalp and the patients’ preference.

How are the hair grafts placed?

The follicular units must be immersed in a special solution in cold temperature once they are taken from body. When the sites are completed by the surgeon, the hair technician will gently insert the grafts one at a time. This is a very meticulous process and typically takes a few hours.

Does Dr. Mohebi perform the hair transplant surgery himself?

All surgeries are performed by Dr. Mohebi. He will get assistance from a surgical team of hair technicians during dissection and implantation of the follicular unit grafts.

Am I put under sedation while I get the procedure?

You will be put under sedation during the procedure but you will still be conscious. You will become more alert and aware as the surgery goes on, in which you will be sitting in an upright position in a surgical chair most of the time. You can watch a movie, read a book, listen to music or you can sleep (if you choose to) during your hair transplant surgery.

How long before the transplanted area doesn’t look like a procedure has been done?

Redness and swelling after hair restoration surgery is not uncommon and may last a few days following the procedure. Most patients generally recover from surgical swelling and redness after day 4 or 5. A loose fitting hat can be worn to prevent direct sunlight, which will protect the grafts and also keep your swelling or redness from being seen by others, if that is your concern.

Where can I find before and after photos of Dr. Mohebis’ work?

Before and after photos as well as video testimonials of previous hair transplant patients can be found at our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/US-Hair-Restoration/148987321796051, which we will keep updated as much as possible on a regular basis.

Swelling in the forehead and transplanted area is a very common side effect for a majority of people who receive hair transplant in the front and top areas of their scalp. The swelling (or skin edema) is due in most part to the inflammatory reaction of healing incisions. Application of anesthetic solutions by intra-operative injection is unrelated to this common side effect. Some patients may not experience swelling for the first day or two after hair transplant, but may start to notice swelling 3 to 4 days after the procedure. In most cases the swelling disappears 4 to5 days following the hair transplant.

Swelling can be minimized by:

• Diluted steroid solutions infiltrated into recipient area during surgery (this method may be used on a select few).*
• Keeping your head above chest level can significantly minimize the amount of swelling so sleeping in a semi-upright position for the first few nights is recommended.
• Wrapping your forehead with an elastic bandage (do so, only under the instruction of the surgeon).
  Systematic anti-inflammatory medications such as steroids can be prescribed for a short period to most hair transplants to minimize swelling post op.

*Dr. G. Abbasi has conducted a recent study on the effect of diluted solution of steroids to minimize the rate of swelling after hair restoration surgery. Results of the steroid injections on swelling after hair transplant can be found in the Journal of Aesthetic Surgery (Hair Transplantation: Preventing Post-operative Oedema). US Hair Restoration offers this option to patients who are prone to swelling.

Following popular demand, we have now decided to post all of our patients success stories on this blog.  I love having the opportunity to see my patient’s post operative results and personally witnessing their life transformations. Here is one example of a patient who’s life was changed following his hair transplant procedure:

We will be sure to keep you posted with all future video testimonials at US Hair Restoration.

Best,

Parsa Mohebi, MD

Before and After Pictures; First Day After Hair Transplant

Well, on the first day we’re usually forced to kick out our patients from our office because they grow so fond of us and don’t want to leave! Well, not all the time. But our patients do like us, which is something we’re very proud of.

On a more serious note, I’ll say this: Transplanting hair is a very delicate and painstaking procedure. After a hair transplant is over, it is of utmost importance to constantly monitor and properly care for the transplanted area. US Hair Transplant’s policy is to book a patient for a hair washing the day after his or her transplant. The hair washing takes about half an hour. At our office, we use thick shampoo to clean the transplanted hair grafts. We make sure to be gentle and only spread foam and dab the transplanted area. After two minutes, we rinse off the shampoo with water.

During the first visit, another area we wash is the donor area. As a parting gift, we provide our patients with a sponge, which has a soft brush on one side. The brush is used to clean the donor area and the sponge for the transplanted area. When it comes to washing the donor area, a patient may use a bit of aggression as the wounds are stapled or sutured. The soft brush can be rubbed, ever so gently, on the back of the patient’s head to remove scabs and extra debris from the surgery.

Remember: hair washing ought to be done twice daily for first four days, after which it can be done once a day.

Because of dedication to patients, we teach them how to properly care for the transplanted area. The first four days are important, as the grafts in the transplanted area may dislodge if they aren’t washed with care. After the first four days, the patient can go back to washing his hair the way he did before surgery as the grafts, at this point, are most likely sealed and part of the person’s scalp even if the hair is moved. The remaining follicles are able to generate new hairs.

To prevent scabs, we urge our patients to wash hair using our particular technique. It’s important to note several studies have shown that scabbing may prevent transplanted hair growth. After seven days from day of surgery, there ought not to be any scabs. If scabs still appear after the seven days, it means washing wasn’t done the right way and the patient must start being a bit more aggressive in his washing technique.

After four days have passed, patients can wash their hair twice a day. In addition, patients ought to let the foam alone for ten minutes to let scabs soften. Afterward, patients can use the soft brush we provide to comb their hair in the direction of their other hairs.

Also we make sure to let our patients know to not dunk their head in water the first week after the transplant, and to try not to bend their head too frequently during the first month. Also, the first six months after surgery, we tell our patients to keep the transplanted area away from sunlight.

As time passes, the transplanted hair will grow and be able to protect the skin grafts from the sun’s ultraviolet rays.

As with any surgical procedure, you would have to worry about certain side effects or tedious maintenance. We are asked by every potential surgical patient, “When can I go back to work after my hair transplant surgery?”

Downtime doesn’t only apply to the amount of time you would spend away from your office or how soon you can return. This all depends on the type of work that you do, whether or not you can use a hat, how sensitive the issue of your hair transplant is and whether or not you want to keep it a secret.

We have a few follow up dates after the hair transplant surgery in our California Hair Transplant Offices and each must be completed. On the day after surgery, all patients must have a hair wash done in office to best instruct the patient. We make sure to clean the patient as thoroughly as possible without damaging the hair grafts in a professional and comfortable manner. We make sure the patient understands that scabbing and redness must be dealt with as soon as possible.

Patients are most concerned about how they will look the first few days. Redness and swelling are the most common side effect of the surgery and can last 4-5 days after the surgery. Patients can choose to wear a hat to cover the transplanted area from plain site.

On larger hair transplant cases, the swelling may actually progress to the eyebrow area or even the eyelids and under eyes. 5 to 6 days is all it should take for this kind of swelling to go down, generally. The swelling is most always triggered by large (2500 graft surgery) or mega-session (3000+ graft surgery) procedures but is almost undetectable on smaller cases.

The final concern or issue after hair transplant surgery is the visual aspect of the existing hair. Most cases, we trim the hair in both the recipient and donor area (0.5 to 2cm) and it will stay at about that length for 2 to 3 weeks. In about 90% of patients that undergo surgery, the transplant hair will fall out within the first 3 weeks. This means will look like they did before hair transplant surgery. By this point, there should not be any swelling or redness. Staples and/ or sutures are removed in less than 2 weeks after surgery and the transplanted hair follicles will then go into their resting phase until they are ready to grow again.