Hello i know hair isn’t the worst thing to worry about but I’m just curious? I have a brain AVM and I’m going to go through many embolisation and then surgery. I wasn’t sure if they will shave my head when they will go from or not? If so will it grow back normal? Would like to hear from some people who has gone through the surgery for some advice 
thanks in advance
For a craini they do and yes it came back normal.
Hello Sophie,
When I went thru my AVM surgery I requested my hair not to be completely shaved because of my children whom were very tiny at the time…1 and 3 years old. I wanted them to see mom as normal as possible after the surgery. They just shaved the area where they did the surgery. My hair grew back very nicely. It came in thicker and healthier than the rest of my hair. I recommend you speak to your Doctor before hand.
Take Care
Hi Sophie. I was asking the same question last year, and almost had my head shaved beforehand, but I chickened out. Surprisingly, they only shaved where the incision was going to be. Took a couple of haircuts to even everything back out afterwards, but I have straight hair and it was mostly hidden regardless.
Brian
I think this is a totally normal thing to be worried about. It seems from the other comments there are ways doctors can be more delicate with the shaving. While I don't have any personal experience to draw from, as surgery is not an option for me, I will tell you I saw a lady in the neuro waiting room last week. I'm not gonna lie, she had about half her head shaved and it scared me to death. The more I watched her (trying not to!) I realized how bad ass she actually looked! She had long black hair and a rather large area of stitches, but man was she rocking it. I was very envious of her for not wearing a hat, or trying to cover it up. I thought, you just had brain surgery and are bouncing all over the place! Wear your half shaved head proudly!
I hope your embolisms and eventual surgery go well! xx
I remember going back to rehab for a visit. They looked at me in surprise. They said, you have hair! Lol. Alot, I don’t remember. I didn’t even remember rehab!
They just shaved one section of my hair where they were making the incision. My crani was for aneurysms, not my AVM. I had some of my hair fall out from the Gamma Knife treatments for my AVM.
My hair was past my waist before all of my treatments. I ended up having it cut into a chin length bob with a side part to cover up the bald spot and the crazy section growing out from being shaved for surgery. Only people who knew what my hair was normally like could really tell.
Four and a half years later, I'm really the only one who can tell that anything every happened to my hair. Most of the lengths are evened back out, and it is now a little past my bra strap.
If you go to my page, photos of the haircut are at the bottom.While we are on the topic of shaving scalp before craniotomy, I was wondering if would it be a good idea for me to totally shave my head just before I go to hospital for my craniotomy or should I just leave it to the surgeons/assistants?
As a guy, I'm not bothered about having a bald head and part of me thinks it surely would help the surgeons, but then I worry if my shaving causes an ingrown hair or excess irritation which could then cause unnecessary complications when it comes to healing/recovery time.
Hi Sophie, I didn't have a crani but I did have radiation. My AVM is 6cm x 4cm on the left occipital lobe, and as it is close to the skull that is the reason I lost a patch of hair. Mine is growing back like baby hair, very soft! Due to it being at the back no one even notices until I show them as it's covered by the rest of my hair. It will grow back don't worry.
Loving the idea of a punky hairdo! cut have done an undercut with mine to be fair when it fell out but not that brave. Mine is growing back now :)
I had radiation a few years ago and wasnt notified they were gonna shave it all! (they had actually told me they werent going to, but apparently it dépends on the doctor...) So imagine my shock when the surgeon started shaving it all ! I dont think i ever cried that much in my life lool . But you know what? I loved my new head and it gave me more confidence...and it did grow back pretty fast, and i had 3 very small scars for the head frame.
I might have a craniotomy in the next months, and i too am worried about hair but mostly because of the scars. Now i know i can rock short hair, so it s not a problem, but with the scar, it might be different.....
Hi Sophie- They shaved only where the incision was for me. I told them that I wanted to donate my hair and asked if they could keep as much as possible. Once the staples were out, you couldn't tell I ever had surgery. Now and again when I dry my hair I can see the scar.
We’re girls so it’s normal to be worried about that. I was worried about the same thing when they decided to do a craniotomy to remove my AVM. The actual scar line I have on the side of my head hasn’t shown any hair growth but it is just a line & isn’t noticeable unless I move my hair to show someone. You most likely won’t grow the hair back above the incision because they’ve removed the hair follicle as a result Of cutting into you’re skin. However as for the rest of your that’s around where they’re cutting I looked up a lot of home remedies on Pinterest to make to speed up the hair growth. I definitely suggest looking up some ideas on Pinterest to help because that’s what I did.
I found alot of hair masks that include egg yolks & all sorts of oils you can find at any Walmart that worked for me. I found that rubbing Coconut oil into the scalp works pretty well too. I also bought OGX thick & full biotin & collagen shampoo & conditioner at Walmart which worked because biotin helps speed up hair growth.
-hopefully this helps!
They usually shave the entire side of operation and most times clip the opposite. They will have no problem doing this as it is all procedure. It will grow back fine. Beards have to come off too,reason is hair carries bacteria. Best wishes
the side of my head that needed the incision was shaved so after surgery my Aunt created a nice Mohawk for me. Mine grew back fine. I was bald on the right side
Hi Sophie,
I had a brain AVM too and a craniotomy done. My hair grew back darker and a different texture. It went from light brown to black, and from a relaxed curl to tight curls. I think my picture shows my new hair texture.
It is different to what I had before and I love it because it is on my head, it grows, and I like my new look. I am learning to manage it. Had a few not good hair managing days, but I am learning and loving.