Bottom line up front: Most of the preparation that shapes your hair-transplant day happens at home, weeks before you board a flight to Medellín. Give the clinic a complete medical history, including every supplement you take, follow its specific pre-op instructions on medications and smoking, and pack enough of your regular prescriptions for the whole trip. Never stop a prescribed medication on your own; ask the clinic and your own doctor to coordinate.
Why Preparation Is Harder When the Clinic Is Abroad
A patient having surgery in their home city usually gets a pre-op appointment a week or two ahead, where a nurse reviews medications, takes blood and answers questions face to face. When the surgery is in Medellín, that conversation is compressed into WhatsApp messages and a consultation the day before, or even the morning of, surgery. By then it is too late to stop a supplement that should have been paused two weeks earlier, or to arrange a lab test your doctor at home would have ordered easily.
So the job falls to you: make sure the Medellín team knows everything it needs to know early enough to act on it.
Step One: A Complete Medical History, in Writing
Build a single document you can send to the clinic and carry with you. Include:
- Diagnoses: high blood pressure, diabetes, heart conditions, bleeding or clotting disorders, autoimmune conditions, skin conditions on the scalp, past keloid or abnormal scarring.
- All medications: brand and generic name, dose and how often you take them. Include blood thinners, antidepressants, blood-pressure tablets, and anything for hair loss such as finasteride or minoxidil.
- Supplements and herbal products: vitamins, fish oil, garlic capsules, ginkgo, ginseng, "hair, skin and nails" blends, pre-workout powders. These get missed most often.
- Allergies: especially to local anesthetics, antibiotics, latex, adhesive tape and pain relievers.
- Previous surgeries and anesthesia reactions.
- Previous hair procedures: any earlier transplant, scalp micropigmentation or PRP, with dates.
- Smoking, vaping, alcohol and recreational drug use, honestly stated.
The Government of Canada's advice for anyone seeking medical care abroad (Government of Canada, accessed 2026) recommends bringing records that list allergies, pre-existing conditions and all medications with dosages and both brand and generic names, translated if needed. Spanish translation is not mandatory, but a clear list in simple English makes it easier for the Medellín team to review quickly.
Why honesty matters more than looking like a "good candidate"
Patients sometimes leave out conditions because they worry the clinic will refuse them. That is backward. A surgeon who knows about your blood-pressure medication or your history of keloids can plan around it. A surgeon who does not know cannot.
Step Two: Supplements Deserve Their Own Conversation
Many people do not think of supplements as medicine. Anesthesiologists do. The American Society of Anesthesiologists' patient guide on supplements and anesthesia (2020) lists several common products that can interfere with surgery, and notes that in some cases you may be asked to stop supplements at least two weeks beforehand. Among the examples it gives:
| Supplement | Concern noted by the ASA guide |
|---|---|
| Garlic | May increase bleeding |
| Ginkgo | May increase bleeding risk |
| Ginseng | May raise heart rate and bleeding risk |
| Vitamin E | May increase bleeding and affect blood pressure |
| Kava | May increase the effect of anesthesia |
| St. John's Wort | May prolong anesthetic effects |
| Valerian | May prolong some anesthetic effects |
| Ephedra | May interact with blood-pressure medication |
Hair-transplant surgery is usually performed under local anesthesia with or without light sedation, as the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD, accessed 2026) describes. Bleeding in the scalp during extraction and site creation slows the procedure and makes it harder for the team to see what it is doing, so it is worth taking seriously even without general anesthesia. The ASA guide also suggests bringing the actual bottles to your pre-surgery visit so the clinician can see exactly what and how much you take. A photo of each label sent by WhatsApp to your Medellín coordinator does the same job.
Ask the clinic directly: "Which of these should I pause, and from what date?" Then write down the answer.
Step Three: Prescription Medications
This is where self-management becomes dangerous. Some medications affect bleeding, blood pressure or healing, and some cannot safely be stopped without supervision. The rule is simple:
- Tell the Medellín surgeon about every prescription.
- If the surgeon suggests pausing something, check with the doctor who prescribed it before you do.
- If the two disagree, get them talking, or postpone until they agree.
Blood thinners are the obvious example. A patient on an anticoagulant for a heart rhythm problem may be at greater risk from stopping it than from a little extra bleeding. That is a decision for doctors who know your history, not something to settle in a chat thread.
If you already use finasteride or minoxidil for hair loss, ask the Medellín surgeon whether to continue, pause or adjust around surgery. Practices vary, and our separate article on finasteride and minoxidil around a hair transplant explores the decision in more depth.
Step Four: Smoking, Vaping and Alcohol
Transplanted grafts depend on a healthy blood supply in the recipient area while they establish themselves. A 2026 review of follicular unit excision complications in Frontiers in Medicine (2026) lists smoking among the factors associated with recipient-area necrosis, along with diabetes, vascular disease and very dense packing. Necrosis is uncommon, but it is one of the most serious problems a hair-transplant patient can face.
Most Medellín clinics will give you a window before and after surgery during which you should not smoke or vape. Treat that window as a minimum. If you have been looking for a reason to quit, this is a good one. If you cannot quit, tell the surgeon honestly how much you smoke so they can factor it into planning.
Alcohol is the other common question. Many clinics ask patients to avoid it for several days before and after surgery. Ask for the specific window your clinic uses. Arriving in a new city with friends and a free evening before surgery is exactly when patients ignore this advice.
Step Five: Lab Tests and Pre-Op Screening
Clinics differ in what they test. Some run blood work in Medellín on consultation day; others ask you to bring recent results from home. Ask:
- Which tests do you require, and how recent must they be?
- Can I do them at home and send results in advance?
- If something abnormal comes up in Medellín, what happens to my surgery date and my deposit?
Doing tests at home a few weeks before travel gives you time to act on a surprise result. Discovering high blood pressure or abnormal blood sugar on the morning of surgery means a cancelled day and a wasted trip.
Step Six: Talk to Your Doctor at Home
The CDC Yellow Book (2026 edition) advises medical travelers to speak with their primary care provider well before the trip and to plan, with both the home provider and the overseas one, how any complications would be handled. For a hair transplant, that conversation can be short: tell your doctor what you are planning, review your medications together, and ask whether they would be willing to see you if a wound or infection problem appears after you return.
Some patients worry their doctor will disapprove of surgery abroad. Most will appreciate being told in advance rather than meeting you for the first time with an inflamed scalp.
Step Seven: Pack for the Medical Side of the Trip
Beyond clothes and chargers, pack:
- Enough of every regular medication for the whole stay plus a few spare days, in original packaging, in your carry-on.
- Your written medical history and medication list.
- Copies of recent lab results if the clinic accepted them.
- A button-front or zip-front shirt for procedure day and the first few days.
- The clinic's written pre-op instructions, so you can check them the night before.
The Day Before Surgery in Medellín
Arriving at least a day ahead gives you room to rest, adjust and confirm details. Use that day to:
- Confirm what time to arrive, whether to eat breakfast and whether you can drink coffee.
- Ask whether to wash your hair that morning and with what.
- Plan how you will get back to your accommodation after surgery, especially if you will be sedated.
- Get a proper night's sleep. Avoid the temptation to explore the city late into the night.
A Quick Pre-Op Timeline
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| As soon as you book | Send the clinic your full written medical history, medication and supplement list |
| Several weeks out | See your doctor at home; arrange any required tests; get the clinic's instructions on supplements and medications |
| Per clinic instructions | Pause supplements and adjust medications only as agreed by your doctors |
| Per clinic instructions | Stop smoking, vaping and alcohol for the window the clinic sets |
| Packing | Medications in original packaging, medical documents, front-opening shirts |
| Day before surgery | Confirm arrival time, fasting rules, hair washing and transport home |
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to stop taking vitamins before a hair transplant?
Possibly. Some supplements, including vitamin E, garlic, ginkgo and ginseng, are flagged by anesthesiologists as affecting bleeding or anesthesia. Send your Medellín clinic a full list and ask which to pause and when, rather than guessing.
Can I keep taking my blood-pressure medication?
Tell the surgeon about it and do not stop it on your own. Blood-pressure medication is usually managed in coordination with the doctor who prescribed it, and well-controlled blood pressure is generally helpful on surgery day.
What if I cannot quit smoking before surgery?
Be honest with the surgeon about how much you smoke. Smoking is associated with healing problems in the recipient area, and the surgeon may adjust the plan, ask you to delay, or explain the added risk so you can decide.
Should I do blood tests at home or in Medellín?
Ask the clinic which it prefers. Testing at home a few weeks before travel gives you time to deal with an abnormal result instead of finding out on consultation day.
Is it a problem if I forgot to mention a supplement until I arrived?
Tell the team as soon as you remember, even on the morning of surgery. They can then decide whether it matters for your case. Staying quiet is the only wrong answer.
Planning Your Pre-Op Weeks?
Tell us your timing and health questions, and we can help you prepare the details a Medellín clinic will ask for before confirming your date.
Start PlanningThis article is general education for people planning a hair transplant in Medellín. It is not medical advice and does not replace an in-person assessment by a licensed physician.