i was wondering what everyone thought about shaving ones head before a craniotomy for AVM.... mine is on the 23rd this month.
i have long blonde hair
does it just get in the way of the stitches/staples/dressings following the surgery?
would it be hard to brush and keep clean.... is it just better to get rid of the lot and let it grow out out evenly?
does hair grow where the stiches/staples are? is one better than the other; do you get a choice?
will the medical staff think i'm silly or going over the top to shave it all first? i dont want to embarrass myself! or does it work out okay to keep the rest of the hair and comb it over the bald patch... what are your thoughts, or what is your experience? (not that vanity is my concern right now!!)
my bald patch will be on the top/back for a high-ish left occipital lobe AVM.....
maybe a short hair cut instead of a shave would be more appropriate......
Hi also wondered about this wile I was seeking my best option. I never had craniotomy but I remember my doc saying the longer is better than short hair to work with. I would ask your doc what he/she prefers.
Chari had fairly long hair for her craniotomy. When they unwrapped her in the regular room out of ICU, I saw all the matted blood in her hair and thought "oh, man, they will never get that out and end up giving her a buzz cut after the surgery. A very nice nurse saw that and said to her "later today, I'm come back and we'll wash your hair and get your all cleaned up". Worked out fine for her.
Depending on where the DR has to cut, they often do a cut just into the hairline creating a flap that they pull back to get to the skull. When done, that's where they do the staples. So you probably will end up with a "C" type scar. My son has one for his brain surgery. He wears his hair closely cropped now and just after a haircut, you can clearly see his "C".
Drs are pretty sensitive to that anymore, especially for women. I don't think hair grows back in the scar (and it will itch like CRAZY!), but hair will grow in the flap part.
When Chari had her radiation and lost some hair at the entry points, her stylist just did the combover. Not an issue.
Bottom line, it's whatever you want to do. You will be tired easily after the surgery, and the last thing you might want to do in the following months is mess with long hair.
thanks so much for that info ron. for some reason i convinced myself they would shave the entire section where the skull would come off. peeling the scalp back seems much more long-hair friendly. and a “c” scar suits me as my name is Claire!
Depending on where the DR has to cut, they often do a cut just into the hairline creating a flap that they pull back to get to the skull. When done, that's where they do the staples. So you probably will end up with a "C" type scar. My son has one for his brain surgery. He wears his hair closely cropped now and just after a haircut, you can clearly see his "C".
Ron and Brett both make good points. A lot of people on here did shave there hair off completely and many of them didn’t. I think it’s a matter of preference and where the incision is going to be. Or… you could wait till after the surgey (after it heals up some), and decide then if you want to or not. Either way… It does grow back.
Hi, I was only 8 when I had mine but now at 27 I can still remember how my hair and scar was. Like most people have been saying my doc just cut into the hairline creating a flap that they then pull back to get to the skull. I had long hair at the time. They just shave a patch under and around the flap. I was able to cover it up well after while it grew back and don’t remember it getting in the way or anything. The scar is a little left of a center parting and in the shape of a question make “?” down to my ear. The hair that grew back is a little thinner and there is no hair on the scar but unless you know I have a scar and my history, you would think it is a side hair parting. Some days you can see it but I’m proud of it and if people ask which they don’t really I just try to educate them about it. I hope this answers some questions for you. Best of luck with everything.
that is so good to know thanks for sharing. good about the scar creating a part cos i already part on the left side and its a left lobe AVM.... :)
brid browne said:
The hair that grew back is a little thinner and there is no hair on the scar but unless you know I have a scar and my history, you would think it is a side hair parting.
I was worried about this too. I asked how much they would save and never got a real answer. They did shave the incision spot bald and buzz cut the top right of my head and with the bald spots I was getting already I had a very funky mullet type hairdo. The biggest problem was the gunk that was in my hair after surgery. It smelled and took forever to get rid of. If you decide to keep your lovely locks after your staples and stitches are removed and your head is healed enough scrub it with baking soda. Don’t scrub too hard on your scalp, but in your hair scrub away. I get the gunk and the ‘hospital’ smell out of your hair. And hey you can always get it cut after. I have been going to the same lady to get my hair cut for 7 years now so she was very helpful getting my hair to look nice and was the one who scrubbed my head with baking soda. Oh and your hair will not grow over the incision scar, but your other hair will cover it. I would say just wait because you can alway cut it off you can’t put it back on. Good luck with surgery!!!
glad to help.Like I said it really does look like a side parting and that all. If you have any other question ask away.
Claire Freemantle said:
that is so good to know thanks for sharing. good about the scar creating a part cos i already part on the left side and its a left lobe AVM.... :)
brid browne said:
The hair that grew back is a little thinner and there is no hair on the scar but unless you know I have a scar and my history, you would think it is a side hair parting.
I have long hair too and in my experiences, have found it best to double braid your hair prior to surgery to help avoid the inevitable tangles. With newer techniques, I think most neurosurgeons shave minimal hair, but do check w/your dr.
I also found hair detangler spray very useful post-op, so you may want to have some on hand. :)
For awhile you'll have a 'spikey' patch of hair, but wear it with pride! ;)
Definitely don’t do a shave, but you may want to go for a shorter haircut, then post surgery have scheduled a follow-up cut with your hairdresser to make a new look. My hairdresser is very nice and came to ‘fixup’ my hair post-cranitomy, and it was a punky look she came up with. After a few months it grew out fine. I didn’t love it, but it was actually kind of nice to not do much in the morning. For me, the hair took some months but after a year, the hairdresser couldn’t even see the scar anymore. I didn’t see it after a few months, us gals have that benefit since it’s covered by most women’s hairstyles pretty quickly.
Don’t shave the hair before, I really think it’s unnecessary.
You may have to go with a very short hairstyle, but not shaved. I don’t look good with short hair, but I really wish I did because it was so nice to dry my hair in five minutes!! I also wore makeup daily with the short look, to keep my vanity needs met. I highly suggest it, it helps LOL. I usually am very natural, even w/o mascara a lot. I didn’t when it was short. Think more Ellen Degeneres hair than Sinead O’Connor.
My surgeon suggested to use mineral oil and rub on the scar daily. I thought it helped.
If you can, try something shorter that you like. I have long hair too, but I also change my style very often since my hair grows very quickly.
hi claire, my doc told me to rub mineral oil on it, just dot a couple dabs, rub in. I did it and it was cheap and very effective. i think i used baby oil, but just plain mineral oil is cheaper and same thing...
it helps to heal the scar more quickly. per my hairdresser, it took months but over time it healed very well....
be well, praying for the best of everything for you.
Hi Claire, When I had mine I had medium length brown hair and was prepared to have it shaved if necessary. Luckily, they only had to shave a small part in the back and the rest of my hair covered it completely (except in pig tails). I was so grateful not to have to shave my head, not for vanity reasons, but because I went through such a traumatic ordeal I was happy to be able to look in the mirror and see someone that resembled me. If possible I would keep the hair, but maybe a cut would be advisable.
Hi, I had a brain bleed and didn’t have time to think about shaving my hair off before my surgery. But I will tell you, the neurosurgen did a great job and only took off the hair needed for the surgery, so it didn’t look bad at all. I would ask your doctor…Why shave off more hair than you need to?
With my head of hair it didn’t make much difference, nor did it make much difference to the other gents in the ward. As for the ladies in the ward pre-op, they still looked beautiful after their head shaves. Of course I’m biased - all AVMers look great.
i will be having surgery sometime in the near future. I’m thinking of just shaving it all… I have thick wavy hair… maybe it will grow in nicer and smoother… what other time in my life would it be socially accepted to have a GI Jane hair-do
me to, I am just going to shave it, I have a few of the family shaving there's with me. You not allowed to wash you hair for a while so I would just get it out of the way.Besides I don't know what colour it will grow back lol
Susan Harris said:
i will be having surgery sometime in the near future. I'm thinking of just shaving it all... I have thick wavy hair... maybe it will grow in nicer and smoother... what other time in my life would it be socially accepted to have a GI Jane hair-do :)
