silly and shallow, but I want to know.....

[Melissa778]

So if and when I decide to got he surgical route.....exactly how much hair will they shave from my head?  I know that's a nutty question, I just want to be prepared for it.  I have shorter, chin length hair now....I just want to be prepared.....I know, I know....a silly thing to worry about considering....

[krbonner]

Well, if it's silly then I'm silly too!  I had the same question! 

A lot will depend on what type of surgery you're having.  I had translab with chin length hair.  (It was below my shoulders, and I had it cut just before surgery.  I'm actually glad I did since it was so hard to take care of my hair the first week or so.)  I found that my hair covered the shaved area and scar quite nicely.

Fair warning: It took me a long time after the pressure bandage came off (5 days post-op) to get my hair clean again.  The first day I was allowed to wash my hair I shampooed three times (actually, my mom did the shampooing while I just sat in the tub).  That helped.  The second day, we washed it two times.  On the third day, it finally started to feel like my hair again.  There's just a lot of built up goop and skin cells that takes a while to scrub out.

Attached is a photo of how much they shaved me (again, this is for a translab).

Katie

[Boppie]

I had a hair cut just like the one you see posted here at the left.  My incision was not as high on the top as Katies.  Only an inch of hair was shaved back from my natural hairline for the incision.  I asked the nurses who would prep me to please not take too much off, and I requested they use goop to hold my hair back.  I had no idea how well they would do.  The incision was mostly covered by my remaining hair post op.  I had a hard time getting the waxy sustance off my incision area.  But I just used a mild shampoo and showered it gently...  patted dry with towel and thoroughly dried the area on low heat. 

If you would like a personal, let me know.  I can't get the Frapper site to post a photo. 

[leapyrtwins]

Daydreamer -

not a silly, shallow question at all.

At the time of my surgery, my hair was exactly the length you describe.   I had retrosigmoid and happily the docs didn't take as much hair as I thought they would.  Plus, by the time the stitches came out - about 9 or 10 days post op - the hair around my scar had already started to grow back.  You would have never known just looking at me that I had had brain surgery.

Jan

[Kate B]

I had middle fossa and only my hair dresser knew:-) They cut only the layers right around your ear and all of the top layers remain untouched. Right after surgery your hair is all out of the way because of the bandage.

It is not a shallow question at all..

Kate

[chopper]

There wasn't but a small patch taken off for me with the surgical route I took.  Basically a the width of a couple swipes with a buzz cutter, and confined to the back of the head mostly.

[AROBTEK]

Hi Daydreamer,
That is a perfectly serious question to me, I had the same concern!!  I had translab at Emory and the 'shaving person' was very gracious.  No hair removed in front of the ear, only a couple of inches behind my ear and maybe an inch at the top of my ear.  I had gotten my hair cut short because it was already 'kinda' short and I didn't want to have to worry about it during my recovery time.  That was a good decision for me.  My hair grows really fast and 5 weeks after the surgery you can barely tell there was any hair shaved.

Hang in there, you will make it.  Good luck and God Bless,
Annette

[OTO]

daydreamer

It depends on your surgeon.   For my middle fossa, he just a strip about 1-1/2 inches wide along the incision.   If I had to do it again, I would have cut my hair a little shorter (possibly even a crew cut).   I couldn't wash my hair for about 7 days post-surgery (they take the bandage off around 5 days or so).    My hair felt greasy and my scalp really itched.   I think short hair might be easier to handle.   

While I was recovering, there were several women in the Guest House and you could tell where their incision was, so the neurosurgeons do a good job with minimizing how they cut your hair....

[Kaybo]

Daydreamer~
Of course, mine was a long time ago, but the Dr. actually told me, "Do NOT cut your hair!"  I had longer (past my shoulders) hair -- the used the super-duper goop and cut just a little strip about an inch wide just around the top and down the back of my ear.  I was still picking out the goop almost a month later (& I had washed it a BUNCH!).  For me, the long hair was good b/c I just pulled it back!

Definitely NOT a shallow question!
K

[Jim Scott]

Daydreamer;

I'm a guy and I was concerned about how much hair I would have to have shaved for my surgery, so I can't call your question silly or shallow.  We all care about our appearance, even if we're not especially vain.  As you can see from reading the previous posts, you won't lose much hair at all and for women, the shaved area can usually be easily concealed.  My shaved area grew back quickly and my barber was able to 'camouflage' the shorter strip of hair rather easily.  Within two months, it was impossible to see any difference...and I have a relatively short haircut.  That being the case, you have little reason to fear having a small strip of hair cut for your surgery. 

However, I agree with the ladies that if you've considered having your hair cut shorter, this would be the time to do it.  The first week or so following surgery you really can't wash your hair - and it does become yucky.  Mine did...and my hair is probably a lot shorter than yours!  As my experience shows, even with relatively short hair, the portion that will be shaved (and have the incision) is small and covering it will not be a problem, so not to worry.   

Jim

[lori67]

daydreamer -

See - we're all silly and shallow!  We all worried about the same thing!  My doctor did a good job on the hair removal part and just did right behind and over my ear.  I part my hair on the other side anyway, so the layers were long enough to cover up the incision.  I asked him to pretend he was a hair stylist while he was shaving and cutting.  He warned me that he was much better at cutting heads than cutting hair, but he did okay.  I told him if this brain surgery thing ever gets old, he's got a real future at Supercuts.   

Lori

[NW]

Don't be silly!! I myself have short hair, actually they only shaved as much as they needed. I had the retrosigmoid approach done, they shaved about 1 inch above my ear to 2 fingerwidths back. My hair was grown back in in about 2 weeks! My hair is cut short in the back, close to my head so it really wasn't a big deal. I bought some cute scarves to wear after but never once put one on my head! Any other questions feel free to email me!!

Nancy