Pimples in Donor Area After Transplant

Doc,

I have a similar question to the person who asked “about scarring in the donor area”. I had a hair transplant on 5/16/2006, and had my sutures removed on 5/30/2006. I went to my Dr’s office on 5/25, and showed him my scar which I felt was becoming infected due to me being too agressive in cleaning the area. I felt what seemed like pimples in the area.

At that time my Dr., said it looked fine but on when I went to have my sutures removed on 5/30, the outer level (he stated he stitched below the skin as well) of sutures had become loose in some areas. He again said he had seen this before and it was nothing to worry about and would not cause the scar to be wide or hypertrophic. He popped some of these pimples in the donor area and prescribed me an antibiotic for 10 days as “a precaution”.

It has been approximately a week since I had the sutures removed and the scar is very pink and at times I feel sudden, slight, yet sharp pain the area. I think part of the problem is that this doctor excised a previous scar from a previous HT.

My question is do my symptoms sound normal to you, and have you heard of using an antibiotic as “a precaution”

PS If I ever decide to have a third HT, I think I will fly to California to meet with you in person. I regret not finding your site and this blog sooner.

What you are telling me sounds ok. Recent wounds feel different with different people. You can not really wash too vigorously on the donor wound (reasonable washing is probably what you did). Don’t blame yourself here as everything sounds OK. If there are real pimples in the donor wound, possibly suture abscesses may be occurring. A culture taken by your doctor with follow-up antibiotics are the regular approach to this type of problem. With the sutures now out, most of the pimples should be gone by the time you read this response.

Good luck.