People facing genetic hair loss
desperately look for a solution to control it and regain lost hair. Hair
transplant surgery is considered as the best way to reverse genetic hair loss
thus far. The unmatched advantages of the procedure give it a respected place
among all other treatments which people opt for to either cure hair loss or camouflage
it. It is amazing how a hair transplant gives back you natural looking hair for
the rest of your life on an area that has almost lost its ability to grow hair.
People all across the world affected from genetic hair loss prefer hair transplant over all other available options because so far it is the only
procedure which regrows hair permanently.
The procedure of hair transplant
A hair transplant surgery does
not increase number of your hair; rather it relocates some of your existing
baldness resistant hair follicles from an area where they are in abundance to a
bald patch. The first step of the surgery is “graft harvesting”. The surgeon harvests
hair follicles from the back or the sides of the scalp (donor site) and
collects them in an artificial medium to ensure their safety outside human
body. Different techniques are used for graft harvesting. Two most common
methods include Follicular Unit Transplant (FUT) and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE). Then, the surgeon prepares bald area by creating tiny holes in it. Each
hair follicle is then carefully placed in these holes crafted in the recipient
site. This completes the surgery.
It is a minimally invasive
surgery performed with local anesthesia on outpatient basis. The surgery
usually takes 4 to 8 hours for its completion, depending upon the extent of
baldness and the number of grafts transplanted.
The recovery process:
Recovery from hair transplant is
a little time taking, but completely safe and does not involve any
complications or side effects, given you follow your surgeon’s post-op
instructions carefully. Stick to your surgeon’s dos and don’ts and you will be
up and back to work maximum by the 5th day of the surgery. The newly
transplanted grafts usually take 7 to 10 days to anchor themselves at the
recipient site and develop their own blood supply. After that, the follicle
initially sheds any hair attached to it and undergoes state of dormancy for 4
to 6 weeks. After that hair tips spring out of the treated area and the hair
keep on growing and multiplying like the rest of your hair. These hairs do not
need any special care or maintenance. You can wash, brush or comb them and make
whichever hairstyle you like.
Potential side effects and complications
As stated above, hair transplant
is a safe surgery, but after all it is a surgery that does involve some degree
of complications. The good thing is that these complications are all mild and
temporary. Some of them are listed below:
·
Like all other surgeries hair transplant also
causes swelling in treated area and forehead, which disappears soon. Consult
your surgeon if swelling turns to be painful.
·
Itching in the treated area is a common side
effect. It is due to tiny scabs that are formed around the roots of the hair.
You must not scratch your head as it may dislodge freshly transplanted hair
follicles.
·
Some patients also experience hiccups after
surgery, but this is not very common.
·
Scars come inevitably with hair transplant. Type
of scar depends upon the method used for graft extraction. FUT causes a linear
scar at the donor site, whereas FUE results in tiny pinprick scars.
Hair transplant is a unique surgery which gives
you lifelong hair and due to this reason it is considered the best way to reverse genetic hair loss.
It is amazing how a onetime surgery gives you a youthful appearance for the
rest of your life.


