ANA Discussion Forum
Pre-Treatment Options => Pre-Treatment Options => Topic started by: geekmama on April 07, 2010, 11:16:56 am
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I'm wondering if anyone could give me some information about experience shaving their whole head for the surgery. I am only concerned with the comfort level. I'm female so my hair will all grow back. It just seems to me that since I will be having the surgery near the end of this April that I will want to have a cool head and not have to worry about washing my hair for a while. I figure I'll be able to run a wash cloth over it once in a while.
I work as an online instructor so I don't need to look good for a long time. I'm considering getting a part-time face to fact job 6 months or so after the surgery so I'll have enough hair by then.
My biggest concern is whether it'll get too itchy as it grows back in or be uncomfortable in any way during the regrowth period.
What experiences have people had?
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i had ck ... i asked about hair loss and the radio doc said that i would have very little hair loss as i had very little to start with. i actually had 0.
but for surgery - i have been told that it is a small area to be shaved ... not the whole head. samll may be realtive but i doubt that you will have a full shave.
carter
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I'm wondering if anyone could give me some information about experience shaving their whole head for the surgery.
Wow. Unless you're interested in making a strong visual "statement" with regard to your surgery, I think you may find that shaving your whole head is a bit extreme. Regardless of the procedure (translab, etc.), you're not going to be losing a whole lot of hair. I wear my hair quite short (bottom of my ears) and had no trouble at all concealing the shaved portion after my surgery.
On the other hand, a whole-head shave would certainly eliminate the "I can't wait to wash my hair!" dilemma that we face post-surgery!
Best wishes as your surgery date approaches.
Catherine (JerseyGirl 2)
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My two cents worth - don't do it.
Docs usually only shave as much hair as they need to in order to do the surgery. And I can truthfully tell you that by the time my stitches were removed 9 days post op, most of the hair around my incision had grown back in.
As far as hair washing goes, it is horrible not to be able to shampoo (I had to wait 9 days) but IMO it's not horrible enough to shave your entire head.
Jan
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Aileen ~
Although shaving your head pre-op is a bit extreme, you seem to be comfortable with it and of course, it's your choice. As the previous posters have stated, the area shaved for the incision is very small but the post-op prohibition on shampooing is unpleasant - even for guys with relatively short haircuts. Whether you go ahead with your plan to shave your head or not, I think your boldness and unconcern about having extremely short hair for a time is refreshing. I wish you a successful surgery and rapid recovery - no matter the length of your hair. :)
Jim
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Yeah, as it turns out, surgeons don't shave your whole head for this procedure. Always nice to have some good news, huh?? ;)
Sue in Vancouver, USA
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Like someone else said-if you want to do it as a statement, then go for it.
If you're worried about your hair, you may want to get some clarification before doing it. Wouldn't I have felt silly if I had shaved my head before they did THIS:
(http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt309/asburyfamily/P6141351.jpg)
It was basically nothing. After a week (or 10 days?) I was allowed to wash it and carried on like normal. I know some people get more than that shaved, but that's why it's probably worth an ask to your surgeon.
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My daughter's hair was down to the middle of her back. As everyone else said, they only shaved enough for the incision. As far as washing your hair goes, she came home on a Wednesday and she was able to wash her hair on Friday as long as she didn't get the incision wet. So, she would lean her head into the kitchen sink and I would wash it with the sprayer. Doing it this way was really easy to keep the water off her incision.
Good luck!!
Cindy & Betsy
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I did a mohawk before my surgery, but only because it was something I'd always wanted to try and figured it was a good time. I wore a scarf for awhile while things were growing back out / my hair was nappy from infrequent washing, but that time doesn't last long. Especially with the steriods for post-op swelling, my hair grew back fast.
I'd say if it's something you want to do just for fun then do it, but you don't have to because of surgery.
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Pretty much like everyone else, I wouldn't think it necessary to shave your entire head. Besides, better to have a small patch itching as hair grows back rather than your entire head!! I had surgery on a Weds, came home Sat, washed my hair (with hubby's help) on Sunday. We have a detachable shower head, so it was very easy to keep that side fairly dry. The surgeon said to shampoo with baby shampoo for the first few weeks, and also said that it was okay to run water over the incision.
Hope that helps?
Debbi
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Thanks for the information. I did know the doctors don't shave your whole head. I just wanted to know if it would hurt me afterward. I shaved my head once before when my girlfriend was going through radiation and I liked it. In my community women having shaved heads is considered a pretty normal fashion statement.
My symptoms just keep getting worse. I have continuous and total vertigo. I can't wait for surgery, just 2 weeks to go!
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My surgeons specifically told me to *not* shave my head before surgery. Something about the quality of the job done compared to what they do, and that they'd have to redo it in the OR. Don't know if that's true or not, but I didn't pursue it since I was not about to go shaving my head anyway! ;D
If it's something you do want to do for yourself and your own reasons, just ask the surgeons what they think about it. Then make the decision.
Katie
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Thanks for the information. I did know the doctors don't shave your whole head. I just wanted to know if it would hurt me afterward. I shaved my head once before when my girlfriend was going through radiation and I liked it. In my community women having shaved heads is considered a pretty normal fashion statement.
My symptoms just keep getting worse. I have continuous and total vertigo. I can't wait for surgery, just 2 weeks to go!
Go for it, but you might feel a little self conscious, not with the buzz cut, but because the scar will be very obvious. I didn't need any reason to bring attention to myself after, and did everything I could to hide the scar. It kinda hurt my confidence a little. If you're going for easy that's about as easy to manage as it gets.
Good luck with your treatment and remember bald is beautiful :D
Take care,
Liz
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I left my hair alone. Dr's Barker & McKenna shaved a small amount of hair around the incision site. With my grown kids helping me I washed my hair as soon as I got home. They made sure everything that needed to stay dry did. It was wonderful!!! The incision itself was not much to look at. I am glad it was hidden. Good luck on your journey.
Happy Trails,
Lynn
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Thanks,
I have the same doctors. Surgery is next week. I can't wait to start recovery since I'm incapacitated now and I'll at least have a chance of getting better once the tumor's out of my head.
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Your doctor probably won't be happy if you shave your head. Shaving ahead of time can increase your chance of an infection. If you nick around the future incision, you may create an opportunity for bacteria to grow. The nicks can be so small that you are not even aware of them. I worked in the OR and the docs didn't like it when their patients shaved. Some fields of surgery have trended away from shaving at all. If it is something that you really want to do, ask your neurosurgeon first.
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I did a mohawk before my surgery, but only because it was something I'd always wanted to try and figured it was a good time. I wore a scarf for awhile while things were growing back out / my hair was nappy from infrequent washing, but that time doesn't last long. Especially with the steriods for post-op swelling, my hair grew back fast.
I'd say if it's something you want to do just for fun then do it, but you don't have to because of surgery.
I thought of doing this too Nicki, but I didn't have the guts!
As far as the original question, I was told not to shave my head. They took a small swipe starting right above my left ear and followed by hairline down behind it. When I wore my hair down, you couldn't even tell. It took less than a year for it to grow all the way back down to my shoulders (approx). Not too itchy when it grew back. The hardest thing was when it was a few inches long, but not long enough to fit it in a ponytail. Thank God for hats :) One thing my hair did do about 3 months post-op though is thin out a lot....like falling out all over. Couldn't really notice except when I'd shampoo may hair and there it all was. The medical term is telogen effluvium. I know others on here had experienced it as well. My main concern with shaving the head was that I was always scared about how it would be texture wise coming back in. It is not unusual for hair to grow back differently after being shaved.
-Amy
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My neurosurgeon did a nice job. He put my hair in a Pebbles Flintstone ponytail on the top of the middle of my head and shaved as little as possible on my right side for the surgery. When I had the stitches out a week later, I took the rubber band out and the hair fell to the side and covered everything up. The surgery was in Jan. and now there is about 2 in. of growth.
I think shaving the whole head is a little too drastic.
Your docs will help you out on the day of your surgery. Talk it over with them on your Pre-Op visit.
Mei Mei