Pain in Incision

Hi Dr. Rassman,

I had a procedure done a little over 4 weeks ago — 1900 grafts from a strip procedure. My question concerns the healing if the donor area. My scar is healed, but it hurts if I press down on it versus the rest of my scalp. Is this normal? Also, how long should I expect to wait before the end result of the scar is achieved? Is what I have now pretty much what it’s going to be going forward?

Thanks very much. This site is a tremendous resource and I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to make it possible!

The donor area scar may take few months to completely heal. While the scar may look normal on the outside, it is healing on the inside at a microscopic level. There are always small cut nerves on every incision, although rarely do these cause pain. Everybody heals differently, and it is normal to have minor sensitivities around the scar area as new tissue grows and nerves regenerate around the area. If there is a single point where there is pain, you might have a nerve entrapment (unusual) and many of these pains do subside over weeks/months. You should get a straight answer from your doctor on this one. The extent of the sensitivity is something that he/she can judge and let you know if you should worry or not.