Question:
I am a 66-year-old woman who knows about hair transplantation having heard from some friends that it is very painful. How true is this?

Answer:
The only discomfort associated with hair transplantation surgery is at the very beginning of the procedure when local anesthetic is applied to both the recipient area and the donor site area. This is done slowly and generally takes between 5 and 15 minutes to completely anesthetize the entire scalp.

The discomfort associated with hair transplantation surgery post operatively is generally only in the donor area. I tell my patients that they will most likely have some tenderness especially when you touch the donor area physically for a period of two to five days following the surgery. Some patients, however, do experience prolonged discomfort or pain in the donor area and in most cases at some point all the discomfort does subside.

We do supply an adequate amount of prescription pain medication to all patients to treat the immediate post-operative discomfort in the donor area.

Posted by: Dr. Charles