How Long After Hair Transplant Surgery Should Staples be Removed?

This question comes from a member of our hair loss social community and discussion forums:

One week ago, I underwent hair transplant surgery via the follicular unit transplantation (FUT) method. After the strip extraction, the physician decided to close the wound with staples. Since then, I’ve been healing well, but I’m eager to get the staples removed. So, I’m wondering: how long after hair transplant surgery are the staples normally removed?

Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) via strip surgery incisions can be closed two different ways: with sutures (“stitches”) or with staples. While both methods have advantages and disadvantages, the decision to use one over the other usually comes down to the preference of the operating hair restoration physician. However, despite the method of closure, patients are usually eager to have the sutures or staples removed and continue with their daily lives. So, this leads to the question: how long after hair transplant surgery should staples be removed?

According to most hair restoration experts, staples should be removed somewhere between 12 to 14 days after hair transplant surgery. Some clinics will allow as low as 10 days, especially in cases where travel is necessary, but many use 12 days as the cut-off for staple removal. What’s more, some physicians understand the urgency to remove the staples and will agree to remove every other staple on day 11 or 12, and remove the rest on day 14.

Regardless, normally removing staples 12-14 days after hair transplant surgery allows proper time for the wound to heal without leaving any excessive scarring. However, patients should always discuss staple removal with their hair transplant surgeon and try to follow the clinic’s post-operative instructions as closely as possible.

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Blake Bloxham – formerly “Future_HT_Doc”

Editorial Assistant and Forum Co-Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning

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