Hair Transplant

Hair Transplant

Baldness is pretty common these days. Several men and women start experiencing it around the age of 30 to 40. The problem is more serious among males. The most common cause of which is androgenic alopecia or male pattern baldness. Male pattern baldness may begin in the teen years and as age increases, the problem becomes more common. It could be associated genetically in males.

How does male pattern baldness work?

It is known that the male hormone, testosterone, gets converted to 5-dihydroxytestosterone (5-DHT) in the hair follicles. Under the influence of this hormone, hair follicles in the front and the top of the scalp begin to become finer over the years in genetically susceptible men. The hair density decreases gradually and the hair disappears completely.

Hair Transplant

A hair transplant is a procedure that involves transferring hair from the back of the scalp which is known as the donor area, to an area where the hair is thinning or is not present. Hair transplants are done using two methods namely-

1. Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT): For FUT, the strips of tissue are removed from the donor area and are cut into individual follicular units. Tiny slits are then made in the scalp where these follicular unit grafts are placed carefully to retain hair growth.
2. Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE): For FUE, individual hair follicles are extracted from the donor area and are then moved to the area where they need to be transplanted. FUE is usually favoured by doctors since it doesn’t leave any obvious scarring since most of the scars left after it is minor and covered with hair, so they aren’t visible. The transplanted hair will usually fall out within 2-3 months after your surgery. Later, there is a growth phase in which hair tends to grow. The transplanted hair may take 8-10 months to grow to full length.

A hair transplant surgery is generally performed under local anaesthesia. The duration of the transplant session can last from 3-7 hours depending on the number of hair that is to be transplanted. 1000-2000 hair follicles may be required for smaller bald areas, on the other hand, there may be a requirement of up to 4000 hair follicles for larger bald areas.

Procedure

• The hair on the donor area of the scalp is trimmed short so that it can be handled and transplanted with ease.
• Then anaesthesia is given to the donor area.
• The hair follicles are extracted using small punches.
• These hair follicles are then transplanted into the slits made in the recipient area.

Post-surgery precautions and instructions

• Avoid heavy exercise and smoking for a minimum of 2-3 weeks after the surgery
• Do not pick or scratch at the scabs.
• Post-surgery, get your first head wash in the clinic after 3 days.
• Do not use blow dryers or towel to dry the hair.
• Apply an antibiotic ointment as prescribed by the doctor on the donor region for one week.

Normally, patients return to work 4-5 days post-surgery and resume normal activities immediately.