On the day of your procedure, the instructions will be reviewed and any questions that you may have will be answered; you will then have the preoperative photographs taken. After that, you’ll quietly settle down on a comfortable chair, begin to relax and possibly watch a video. Dr. Simmons and Dr. McKenzie will next discuss and design your plan for the day. Only after the plan has been designed, discussed, agreed upon and photographed, will the next steps follow.
The hair in the sides and/or back will be taped or held up with hair clips and an area approximately 1 cm. wide by 4-30 cm. long will be marked and only the hair in that area will be trimmed short. Dr. Simmons and Dr. McKenzie will then administer some intravenous sedation and anesthetize and carefully remove the donor strip with a freehand elliptical incision. This method of donor hair removal allows for constant adjustment of the angle of incision to avoid damaging the adjacent hairs. It also allows for greater flexibility in designing the shape and width of the donor strip to allow for optimal closure of the edges afterwards.
While our medical assistants begin the graft preparation with careful microscopic dissection, the donor area will be stapled or sutured closed. The staples or sutures will need to be removed in 10 to 12 days. The resulting scar will be narrow and will easily be concealed by the hair from above immediately following the hair transplant.
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