Chances of Nerve Damage from Strip Excision?
Haemorrhage, vascular and nerve damage is a risk of strip excision?? can we see some of these implications in patients? what are the chances of this to happen?
I can reflect on these from only experience in my practice:
- Bleeding after surgery — I sometimes see some wound ooze beyond a day after a surgery (I would guess 1 in 300 patients). I handle this with a simple pressure dressing over the donor wound. Bleeding is never a problem beyond a day in the recipient area.
- Bleeding significantly during a surgery (by “significantly”, I mean enough to impact blood pressure – more than a few ounces of blood) — Risk for this is close to zero. Every patient bleeds during the surgery as the scalp is very vascular (might lose a few ounces of blood), but it should not be meaningful bleeding that risks anything. Bleeding may be a problem if a patient is on anticoagulants, Aspirin, or if they might have a clotting/bleeding disorder that stops blood from coagulating (this last one should be known by taking a good history from a patient for hemophilia).
- Vascular damage — There is no risk of direct vascular damage in a normal person unless the patient has had many scalp reduction procedures or many hair transplant procedures, or the surgeon does not have experience in doing this type of surgery.
- Nerve damage — There are two types of nerve damage that may follow a hair transplant. The fine cutaneous nerves are cut in almost everyone both in the recipient area and the donor area. This might leave some numbness above the wound and this usually disappears in days or weeks. The second type of nerve injury occurs when and if the surgeon accidentally cut a major nerve (‘greater or lesser’ occipital nerves). This is a surgical error in technique when it occurs. In my practice, I have never seen it in a surgery I have done, but I have seen this injury in patients who came to me from other doctors who may not have been skilled surgeons in the first place.
hi my name is dijae.i flew to thailand to get the hair restoration,because it was alot cheaper,but they always say you get what you pay for.i did do research on the doctor for at least 6 mths.he inplanted 2500 grafts in the frontal area,but ive been experiecing numbness and pain for about a month now.i was wondering could that be nerve damage or is it normal to have that sensation around where the insion was made in the back.please can you answer on why i feel this you can contact me @ dijae01@yahoo.com. thanks for your time dijae
dr. rassman i was wondering if it was also normal when washing my hair,my hair in the back where the strip was taking is falling out.at first i thougth it might have been normal from the ladacain injections,but i dont think i should have handfuls of hair falling out,i do know that its normal to lose hair daily,but not as much as i have.can you tell me what to do or recommend me to a physician that farmiar in that area.again thanks dijae
Hi Dr Rassman :
I made hair tranplant a year ago and until now i feel tightnes,discomfort and pain in the donor area which extent from the back of my head to the right side of my head.COuld these by a damage majour nerve?
thnx