Hair restoration surgical procedures involve varying degrees of tissue cutting, which creates tissue swelling and discomfort after surgery. Medications are prescribed for use after surgery to minimize swelling and pain, however even with medication, some people will still experience discomfort during the healing period. Bandages, crusts from dried blood, and sometimes visible wounds with sutures can affect the patient's appearance for a few days to two weeks or more after the procedure. Typically bandages are used to cover any surgical incisions until the wounds have substantially healed, although with some procedures bandages are not even necessary. To reduce the unnatural look immediately after surgery, existing hair can be combed to camouflage the incisions, or a hat or hairpiece can be worn temporarily.
Some patients simply choose to take a few days off of work, until their scalp has adequately healed.
The results may not be what the patient expected, or the surgeon may not have accomplished what was desired. Sometimes, after several procedures, the relocation of hair follicles leaves the donor areas noticably thinner. Each of the various surgical treatments make a change in the patient's appearance, and there is a risk that the change will look unnatural. Hair restoration surgical procedures require both adequate surgical skill and a fine sense of aesthetics to achieve convincing results, and especially to achieve a natural look at the hairline and temples. Usually a series of procedures are planned, spaced at 3-4 month intervals, to adequately improve the patient's appearance.