Hair transplant surgery is usually performed under local anesthesia


During the Surgery

Hair transplant surgery is usually performed under local anesthesia, so you’ll probably be awake (although somewhat sedated) during your procedure. Often pictures are taken of you prior to the surgery to document your starting point. The surgeon should draw your new hairline on your head; you should have had considerable input into the hairline design and location before this point, because once the hair goes in, it’s too late to change it!

The process of determining your new hairline is your last input into what the surgeon will do, so make sure that you’ve agreed not only on the hairline but also on the distribution of hair. It is difficult to place a hairline and this process requires a friendly interplay between the surgeon and his patient.

There are artistic considerations for the surgeon and there is often anxiety on the patient’s part because he must imagine that the hairline that is drawn in crayon, is just a line. The patient usually goes along with the surgeon’s suggestions on hairline placement but should voice concerns on location and balance.

After you sign all the legal papers, you’ll be given a sedative that should help you manage any anxiety you may have; many patients fall asleep within the first hour of the surgery. The procedure is performed under local anesthetics such as lidocaine or Marcaine injected to numb your scalp and some mild sedation to help the patient through the long surgery.

Some doctors use a short-acting narcotic before the local anesthetics are started (like a twilight sedative), and some also add laughing gas to help you through the initial phase of the surgery, when there may be some pain.

There should be no pain associated with a hair transplant procedure aside from some small mosquito bite-type shots during the initial administration of local anesthesia. The amount of sedation may be the choice of the doctor or the patient, and the depth of the sedation various with different clinics.

The entire procedure may take place in a surgical chair much like the chair at your dentist’s office. Some surgeons allow you to sit up, whereas others lie you flat. You’ll be awake, so you can interact with the doctor and staff or just relax watching a movie, listening to music, or sleeping if you wish. The average surgery takes four to seven hours, depending upon the number of grafts performed and the size of the surgical team.

Most of our patients consider surgery day a great day because they feel good with so many people working on them and taking care of them, and they remain comfortable from the drugs they receive.

Because the day can be long, your procedure may include snacks and meals! In our practices, we serve good food, including shrimp cocktail and ice cream sundaes for dessert, all in the middle of a hair transplant procedure. That’s right you can eat during surgery!

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This article was sent to us by: Olga Trummer at 06192010

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