RSS FeedScalp Laxity ExercisesPosted by admin (on behalf of the doctor) on July 20th, 2009
Hello Doctor Wong. Can you describe exactly what scalp laxity exercises are supposed to accomplish? I was told to do them in the months prior to my hair transplant surgery. Can exercises really make a difference in the end results? I’ve seen drawings and photos that show different ways of doing them. What is the right way?
— C.T.
Scalp exercises are designed to increase the vertical mobility of the donor area. Increasing this area allows the doctor to remove a wider piece of tissue and close the incision under low tension. The wider the piece of tissue harvested, the greater the yield. For most cases, the larger the number of grafts, the better the result. Some patients start scalp stretching exercises up to six months prior to surgery. Your scalp can never be too loose for a hair transplant regardless of the number of grafts being harvested. For patients with an extremely tight scalp, the exercises are of greater importance. Depending on how aggressive the patient is with the exercises, generally we like patients to perform the exercises for at least two months prior to surgery, especially if their scalp is a little on the tight side. These exercises really can make a difference in increasing the vertical mobility and therefore increasing the width of the strip that can be safely excised.
There is a good scalp laxity exercise how-to description with photos at the Hasson & Wong website, or watch the following demonstration video. The keys to the success of the exercises are consistency, diligence, and ensuring that the scalp movement is perpendicular to the donor area as depicted in the photos and videos
— Jerry Wong, MD
hair transplants by Hasson & Wong