Spicy Foods & Hair Transplants
Q Can I eat spicy foods before a hair transplant?
A After many years of practice we developed a very extensive preop list of items to avoid before a hair transplant. Many doctors would recommend maybe to stop aspirin but at Dr Shapiro's Hair Institute we realized that we were getting better results when the patients didn't bleed at all versus no real preoperative at all. Many new doctors who have recently appeared in the hair transplant community have a hard time understanding this since doing a few hundred cases is not the same as performing over 11,000 cases. So it is very important to understand the nuances of patients with different ethnic backgrounds. Dr Shapiro has worked on patients from almost every country in the world and he noticed that patients from India and Pakistan who were doing a hair transplant were following the directions but couldn't understand why they had prolonged bleeding. It then occurred to Dr Shapiro, since he is a dermatologist, that it was their style of cooking with spicy foods such a cumin or turmeric for their curry that was thinning their blood. Not only do Indians and Pakistani people have this style of food but Dr Shapiro gets patients from the West Indies who use various spices. it is very important that a patient stop all spicy foods for two weeks before a procedure to get the best results.
Hair transplantation is an art and an experienced hair doctor like Dr Shapiro understands how to get the best results. Many doctors do not even tell you how many patients they have worked on since it is probably a few hundred at best and they will throw a big price at you saying you get what you pay for. Understand that the most experienced doctors would not over charge for this procedure and it is their years of hard work and dedication to their patients that drive them. Nuances such as what to avoid in your diet as well as many of the articles on this website serve to guide and protect the consumer against fraudulent medical practices out there. We are always available for a free consultation and to review your individual needs.
