Hair Transplant
Are you losing hairs? Do not worry, you are not alone. Hair loss has become a common problem for men and women all over the world. Those who are suffering from hair loss, hair transplant can be a perfect solution.
What Is a Hair Transplant?
Hair transplant or hair restoration is a surgical procedure which is performed to restore hairs on the bald area. During the procedure, plastic surgeon moves hairs from a donor area to the bald area of the head. The donor area can be back or side of the head, legs, arms, chest, etc. Usually, hair transplant is done under local anesthesia. In the majority of people, male pattern baldness is responsible for hair loss. Some other reasons for hair loss are:
- Heredity
- Poor diet
- Stress
- Illness
- Medication
- Hormonal change
Are there different types of hair transplants?
Hair transplant can be done with two techniques:
Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT): In this technique, a strip of tissues is removed from the donor area and then dissected into individual grafts. After that, the recipient area is prepared by making tinny slits and then these follicular units are placed into the slits. This technique can leave a very fine scar on the donor area.
Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE): It is an advanced method of hair transplant. In FUE, individual hair follicles are extracted with the help of specialized tools and then implanted on the recipient area using microsurgical instrumets.. This technique leaves no scar, neither on donor area nor recipient area.
Whatever technique you choose, after hair transplant your hair will fall out within 2 to 3 weeks but they will re-grow within a few months. Most of the people see over 80-90% of new hair growth after 6 to 9 months.
Who might benefit from a hair transplant?
Hair transplant surgery can give you a youthful appearance and can boost your confidence. Hair transplant is not limited to the scalp; it can also be done on other parts of the body such as mustache, beard, eyebrows, etc. Candidates who can get benefited from hair transplant are:
- Men and women with pattern baldness
- Women with thin hairs
- Anyone who has lost hair because of burn, injury, hormonal change, or poor diet
- Hair loss because of heredity
What happens during a hair transplant?
As we have already told you, hair transplant can be done with FUT or FUE methods. Before starting the procedure, the surgeon thoroughly cleans the scalp and numbs the area with local anesthesia. Then hair follicles are extracted, in FUT, a strip of tissues from the donor area is extracted while in FUE method individual hairs are extracted. The area from where the strip is removed is then closed with stitches. The strip is then divided into small sections using a sharp surgical knife and small follicular units are created. The procedure of implanting grafts is same in both the techniques. Once follicular grafts are ready, they are implanted on the bald area in a suitable direction so that natural looking hair growth can be achieved. The transplant can take 4 to 8 hours as the surgeon has to implant thousands of hairs.
What happens after a hair transplant?
After the procedure, you may have sore scalp. Your surgeon might recommend some medications such as pain relievers, antibiotics to reduce risk of infection, and anti-inflammatory medicines to keep the swelling down.
You must take a day or two off from the work after the surgery for better recovery. In two to three week your implanted hairs will fall out which is normal so do not worry. Within a few months they will re-grow. Your doctor can also recommend some hair growth medicines to promote hair growth.
Risks and Costs of Treatment
Hair transplant is a surgical procedure so there are some risks associated with it including
- Bleeding
- Infection
- Swollen scalp
- Bruising around eyes
- Numbness or lack of sensation on the treated area
- Formation of crust on the donor area
- Itching
- Hair follicle inflammation
- Unnatural looking hairs
In most cases, there is no complication or risk after the transplant. Even if these complications occur, they diminish within a few weeks without leaving any harmful effect. These symptoms can be easily treated with medications if you notice anything unusual discuss it with your doctor and follow the advice for a better and healthy recovery.
Cost of hair transplant
The cost of transplant depends on number of follicular units implanted in other words the number of hair moved to the recipient area. If you have a large bald area, you need more hairs implants so the cost of transplant will increase accordingly. Generally, the cost of transplantation ranges between INR 70,000 to 150,000.