Pre-Op Instructions for Hair Transplant Surgery

Unless told otherwise by Powell Medical Hair Transplant the following are our standard Pre-op instructions. If you have questions or concerns call us well before your procedure at 954.532.3139. Don’t worry, we’ve probably heard your question hundreds of times already. So don’t be shy.

1. Arrive at the office on time. 7:45am for morning patients and 11:45am for afternoon patients. Even better if you come early. A lot of staff will be waiting for you and we have a tight schedule. Late arrivals may result in cancellation of surgery with loss of first payment. For those coming from NYC we advise you leave even earlier than you might think to allow for traffic. If you are late or are going to be late call the office at 954.532.3139. Leave a message if no answer.
2. Patient must shower and wash scalp with shampoo on morning of procedure.
3. Eat a normal breakfast but nothing to heavy or greasy. If you are not a breakfast eater, eat cereal with role and butter and orange juice. A large non-diet muffin works, too. Do not drink caffeinated coffee or soda on the morning of your visit. If you have special dietary needs bring in your own food, please.
4. No ALCOHOL 14 days prior to your procedure. Absolutely no exceptions or your surgery may have to be cancelled.
5. No aspirin, Ibuprofen, Motrin (or other such products) 10 days prior to your procedure. Tylenol is ok.
6. No vitamins, multivitamins, or drinks with high vitamin contents like “power drinks”. Also avoid “power bars” starting 10 days before procedure.
7. Patient is to purchase and bring an oversized baseball cap with adjustable open back to be worn right after the procedure. If you can’t find one the office will provide one at our cost.
8. Bring an old or cheap but CLEAN T-shirt that you can throw away at the end of the procedure. Do not wear anything you can’t throw away. Also, bring an old or cheap but clean button down shirt to wear home.
9. Do not run, jog, weight lift, or heavy exercise starting 5 days before your procedure.
10. If you wear a hair system do not wear it on the day of your visit.
11. It is patient’s responsibility that all blood work is completed and received prior to your procedure. Visiting without completion of blood labs may result in cancellation of surgery with loss of first payment.
12. Keep taking whatever medication you usually take UNLESS one of our doctors advises you otherwise. If you were required to get medical clearance by your doctor make sure we get a copy of it before your procedure day. Failure to do so may result in cancellation of your procedure and loss of first payment.

Everything Explained in plain English (why we asked you to do the above):

After all those strict instructions it may be hard to believe that a procedure at Powell Medical Hair Transplant is easy and comfortable to the point of boring. Typically patients are greeted by a doctor at 7:45 am (if the morning surgery) or 11:45am (if the afternoon surgery). They wear normal clothes during the procedure, take breaks to stretch or go to the bathroom. Lunch is ordered in. And the patient can even drive themselves home in most cases.

Alcohol and Aspirin:

The reason we don’t allow patients to take aspirin products or alcohol is because it thins the blood. This makes it more difficult for us to see what we are doing and may compromise the growth potential of the case as well as overall healing.

Exercising:

Running and heavy exercise just before a procedure may likewise thin the blood in a different way and are therefore prohibited.

Eating

Before most procedures patients are told not to eat. However, a Hair Transplant is a minor procedure during which the patient is awake the entire time. As such it is ok and even required that patients eat something. This is for a few reasons. The first is: who wants to ever be hungry? The second is that when you are excited or a bit stressed your body burns calories which means blood sugar will drop. This makes you feel worse. So always best to get some high carbohydrate/sugar food into you before your procedure. Nothing wrong with a donut or pancake. Just don’t eat a huge volume of it and avoid greasy heavy breakfasts.

The Clothes

During the procedure we use large volumes of sterile water and disinfectant. If they get on your clothes it will stain them. So coming to our office on the day of your procedure with a nice suit or a favorite shirt is not a good idea. Just grab some old shirt and worn out jeans that you find comfortable and come on down.

The Hat

One of the great things About a hair transplant at Powell Medical is that you can walk out of the office and nobody should be able to tell you just had a hair surgery. That’s because you can put that baseball hat you brought with you right over your new hair grafts. Just remember not to bump your head as you get into your car.

If you have any questions give us a call.