Hair Transplant Surgery

Advanced techniques of surgical Hair Transplant can replace the lost hair and reshape the hairline. This is done using your own hair, which grows naturally and permanently. The transplanted hair can be washed, trimmed and styled as one wants. The standard surgical procedure is ‘Follicular Unit Hair Transplantation’. The follicular unit is a physiological entity and consists of one, two, three or four hair growing in a cluster. The hair growth is better when the follicular unit is kept intact during transplantation.

PRINCIPLE:

Hair Transplant surgery is based on the principle of ‘Donor Dominance’. Hair at the back and sides of the scalp continue to grow throughout the life a person. These hairs are resistant to the hormonal influence. When the hair is transplanted to the bald area, it continues to grow naturally.

CANDIDATES FOR SURGERY:

• Men with male pattern baldness.
• Women with female pattern hair loss.
• People who want to restore or thicken moustache, beard, eyebrows and eyelashes.
• People who want to restore or advance their hairline.
• People with hair loss due to injuries or skin diseases.

PROCEDURE:

Hair Transplant surgery is considered to be “minor out-patient surgery.” Hair transplant procedures can take 4–8 hours and are usually performed using local anaesthesia on an out-patient basis, occasionally with some supplemental oral or IV medication. Patients are awake as usually no sedation is used. There is typically little discomfort during the surgical procedure.

The donor areas, from where the grafts have been harvested, are usually closed with sutures. These are usually removed in 10–14 days. Dissolvable sutures may occasionally be used in order to eliminate the need for you to return for stitch removal. Using ‘Trichophytic Closure’, the scar will be better concealed, as some hair will grow through the scar.

The harvested hairs are then cut into follicular unit grafts under magnification. These grafts are then placed in the areas of hair loss (recipient area) with small, superficial needle holes or slits in the skin of the scalp. This process may take 3-4 hours. Breaks are allowed during the surgery, for refreshments and visit to the rest room. The donor site will have a small dressing and the transplanted area has no dressing.

AFTER CARE AND RESULTS:

Hair Transplant is a very safe surgical procedure. There is usually little or no discomfort in the grafted area. Most patients feel some “tightness” in the donor area for 1–2 days and a mild analgesic will help cope with this. Patients may be asked to sleep in a semi-upright position for 2–3 days following the procedure to minimize swelling and bruising.

Small crusts may form on each graft, and these can usually be camouflaged by any existing hair that can be combed over the recipient area, or with camouflage products such as HAIROUSE or Toppik. These crusts will flake-off by 5–14 days after the surgery, the smaller follicular unit scabs often falling off at 4–6 days and the multi-follicular unit scabs taking longer. The transplanted hair seen growing out of the scalp may initially be shed; however, the roots remain and will be dormant for 10–14 weeks, at which time the new hairs will begin to grow.