hair loss after surgery?

D

DaringDave

New member
Hi all:

I had a parotid tumor removed surgery at the end of April.The surgery lasted about one hour, and I had general anesthesia. After the surgery, I had big "reaction" for the general anesthesia. I was very weak, vomited, and had very upset stomach. I had the surgery at 8:00am in the morning, and the doctor told me I could go home around 11:00am. But, I was very weak, and finally forced myself to get up and went back home around 11:00pm.

The worse thing is now my hair is falling off like crazy... I noticed that at the beginning of July. It is getting worse and worse. Right now, I almost loose about 200 to 300 hairs per day. My hair is getting thiner and thiner everyday.

Does anyone has the similar problems after the surgery? It is because of surgery or the general anesthesia? How long does the hair loss last? Am I going to loose all my hair? It is so scary!!!! Hope someone could give me some ideas here. Thank you in advance!
 
Hair loss after surgery is pretty common...anything that stresses the body can cause it. Ever seen how much a cat or dog sheds after a trip to the vet?

But this is a little late so keep an eye on it and if it continues for another month or so, I'd ask my doc if this is normal to have it start this later after surgery and go this long.

Jenny
 
Thank you so much Jenny! I just got my blood test result back. everything is normal. So, like you said, it maybe because of stress from the surgery. I guess that I need to be relax and just wait for a couple months and hopefully it will be better...

Thank you again for your reply!
 
I had surgery 2 years ago and lost tons of hair afterwards. Many people say is is a reaction to the anesthetic. My doctors said it was the "trauma" caused by the body having gone through surgery. Oddly, I had my hair loss from the moment I woke from surgery and I lasted about 4 months. I understand I was atypical though and that most people have the hair loss start at the 3 month mark.

Anyway, hair grows in 3 month cycles. Most people have their worst hair loss at around the 3 month period. I'd say if you lose hair for more than the next 3 month hair growth cycle, that would be of more concern.

I was concerned and my doctor did blood tests, but they came back normal. Eventually my hair loss subsided and things got back to normal. It felt like forever though.
 
Thank you so much for your reply. It makes me feel much better. I had the surgery on April 20th. So, you mean the worst hair loss period will be around July to August? If this is the case, I will pay attention in September, and to see if it would get better or worse. I hope right now is the worst period.

I went to see a dermatologist today. She told me it is because of the stress of the surgery. Also, she told me nothing to worry about, and i won't be bald. I showed her my blood test from my family doctor, and everything is normal. She let me to take another blood test to check feritin and hormone level. But, she thinks it will be normal again. She really thinks it is just because of the surgery. But, I just still worry about my hair a lot since I am loosing so much hair everyday. It just scares me... My husband and all my friends told me to be relax, and I know i should not add more stresses on me. But, sometime I just could not control it... I hope you would understand...

Another question that I want to ask you... I had very straight hair before the surgery. Now, I notice that I have a lot of curly hair, especially on the surface of all my hair. Could the surgery change the structure of the hair? Does this mean that my hair need some kinds of nutrition? Will it be back to normal when I stop loosing my hair? Do you have the similar problem?

Thank you again for your reply. It is really helpful. At least I know you are back to normal now. So glad for you. I hope things will get better for me as well...
 
For most people it is that 3-6 month period post surgery when the hair loss occurs. Hair grows back in the next 3 month cycle after that.

I lost handfuls of hair every morning when I showered. Talk about worrying. This lasted for about 4 months for me. The hair grew back after that. For me, it didn't change the texture. Maybe a bit more gray though. ;) If you push your hair back to the roots, you can start seeing when the new hairs start "sprouting" in. I didn't initially notice, but my hairdresser showed me. He was really reassuring, even more than the docs, because he said he sees it happen regularly with customers who have had surgery.

I just wish they had warned me about this side effect prior to when it happened. It freaked me out a bit.
 
Thank you again for your reply. I am not worrying about my hair won't grow. As you said, I checked the roots, it grows. But, I just don't want to loose all my hair before it stops. Like you, I had very thick hair. The dermatologist assured me that I won't loose the hair at the level that people could notice. But, right now I could feel that my hair is getting thiner and thiner. I really hope it will stop soon.

My surgery doctor did not tell me any side effects like this at all before the surgery. Even I asked him last week, and he told me he has never seen this before... I am not sure if he really told me the truth or not. Anyway, after I read your reply, it gave me some kinds of comfort. I believe that it will get better soon... :-)

Thank you again!
 
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