01
Eat breakfast
Unless sedation is planned, in which case the coordinator will give fasting instructions.
Surgery day
What actually happens during surgery
Four to six hours, a real lunch break, and a patient who is awake, comfortable and free to talk the whole way through.
Hour by hour
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1
7:30 — Arrival and design
Photographs, final hairline drawing agreed at the mirror, consent reviewed, donor area measured and trimmed.
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2
8:15 — Anaesthesia
Nerve blocks placed. Most patients describe the first injection and nothing afterwards.
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3
8:45 — Harvest
Donor tissue taken and the donor area closed before any other work begins.
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4
9:15 — Dissection
The technical team begins separating follicular units under stereo microscopes; this continues in parallel for the rest of the day.
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5
10:00 — Recipient sites
Sites cut to graft calibre at the angle and direction of the surrounding hair, region by region.
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6
12:30 — Lunch
A genuine break. You eat, stand up, use your phone.
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7
13:15 — Placement
Single-hair units at the hairline, two- and three-hair units behind, placed to the planned density.
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8
15:00 — Final check and discharge
Photographs, dressing, written aftercare, prescriptions and your follow-up schedule. You go home the same day.
Practical notes
02
Bring a driver
Required with sedation; sensible without it.
03
Wear a button shirt
Nothing that has to come off over your head afterwards.
04
Plan entertainment
Headphones, a show, a book. The day is long and uneventful by design.
Talk to the surgeon who would perform your procedure
Consultations are free, measured and without obligation — in Newport Beach or by video.