Did I lose my grafts when I removed a big scab?

I’m 11 days post-op after a [tag]hair transplant[/tag] surgery. Today I noticed a number of [tag]transplanted hairs[/tag] coming off with the scabs. Along the hairline, a largish scab came off with around 10 – 15 transplanted hairs caught in the middle. This has really freaked me out as I’m thinking maybe the hair graft wasn’t properly inserted into the incision, or I pulled out the graft.

At 11 days post op can you shed the [tag]transplanted hair[/tag] or is it becuase of problems? Thanks!

Your concern is actually a very comon concern. Often when the post operative scabs are shed they contain some of the transplanted hairs. This leads many hair transplant patients to worry that their grafts are coming out. But after a week the underlying hair follicles are secure under the skin.

However, it is wise to be gentle with any scabs on your scalp and to only use gentle preasure from the pads of your fingers while shampooing to break up and shed these scabs (i.e. no picking or peeling).

Best wishes for excellent healing and regrowth.

Pat – Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q & A Blog. To share ideas with other hair loss sufferers visit our Hair Restoration Discussion Forum.