1 Week After Transplant, I Accidentally Hit My Head

i had 1200 graphs put in one week ago. after reading your blog, i wish i had done them with you. i was planning on another 1500 or so in my next procedure and i will come see you first for sure. so you will be seeing me about 12 weeks from now. unfortunately, today i was getting into my car and hit my head on inside part of my car door. ( again i am one week post op) i hit it relatively hard…when i reached to see if there was bleeding( i hit in the area of my recepient site) it was bleeding. I did not stop bleeding for about 35 minutes. Did i likely dislodge new transplanted graphs as well? The cut is about 2 inches long, not very wide not too deep. After one week am i likely to have dislodged graphs? i did not see any follicles, but you never know? your opinion?

It is difficult to answer your question without examining you in person (you’re in Los Angeles — we’re in Los Angeles). That being said, the hair grafts are generally considered permanent after the first couple of days. It is very, very difficult to dislodge a graft after they get set-up and I have seen people get lacerations of the scalp from accidents at about 1 week and when I examined them, all of the grafts were intact and in place (unless they were inside the laceration itself). If you did not see any grafts, you probably did not do any significant damage. However if you have a cut on your head, you will get an inevitable scar and hair may not grow on the scar.

If you do decide to make an appointment to have your injury looked at, please mention this blog entry to me (or to Dr. Pak, who is a contributing editor to this blog).