Hair Transplants - Get The Facts

Hair transplant surgery is a solution to repair hair loss, a process combining today’s technology with the artistry of a surgeon, resulting in a totally natural crop of new hair in an area that was once bald or thinning. A hair transplant is a medical procedure, transplanting an area of healthy growing hair to another area where it is not growing, and will continue to grow normally once transplanted.

There are two methods used for hair transplant surgery. One is the strip method which works best for larger areas. The new Trichophytic Closure is a technique used to trim the edge of a line scar closure so that hair grows through the scar, minimising line scars. The other way of obtaining donor hair is by Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE). Individual follicular units are extracted one at a time using a tiny 1mm diameter instrument, making a small circular incision in the skin around each follicular unit, extracting it directly from the scalp, then transplanting it to the new area.

Understanding Hair Transplant Surgery

Hair Replacement Australia outlines some facts about hair transplant surgery to help you make an informed decision:

• Neither procedure will allow you to ever shave your head as a hairstyle. To minimise any scars from showing you will need to keep your hair at least two inches long.

• There is no way of knowing how far your balding will progress. If you are a young man in his twenties or thirties, your balding pattern may not be well enough established. There is no existing exact technology for predicting the future of your balding. Look at family history, examine your hair loss pattern currently, but you still can’t be 100% sure.

• To minimise future hair loss and help new hair regrowth, we encourage you to be as healthy as possible, and we highly recommend the Laser Cap from www.hairregrowthaustralia.com.au to halt any additional hair loss. Otherwise, your hair may recede and erode further beyond your hair transplant requiring additional surgeries in the future.

• Male pattern baldness is a progressive condition of hair loss over time, so you may end up with isolated areas at the crown of your head that cannot be transplanted, simply because you will not have enough donor hair. A similar problem is the result of advanced Type 7 balding, in which you are left with a small rim of hair around the perimeter. In these cases, you may have to accept baldness on the top or back of your head, even if you have had successful hair transplant surgery in the past.

The first night following hair transplant surgery your scalp will feel sore where the hair was taken, by the next morning it should start feeling better.

• Post-op you will be required to shampoo your scalp gently every single day for about 14 days to remove the little scabs and crusts, along with any bacteria that will form on the implants as healing progresses. It takes about two weeks for crusts to come off and any stitches are removed at around 10 days.

• Infections are extremely rare and healing is fast because the scalp has such good circulation. If you have pus, redness or fever, these are signs of infection, so call your doctor.

• For the first few days post-op you should sleep in a sitting position, (at a 45 degree angle) to minimise any forehead swelling for which you can use ice compresses. Any swelling should disappear within a few days and have no consequences.

• New hair grows in noticeably between three to six months. You may not be happy with your new hair growth until six months when you can actually see it. Your transplant will continue to fill in about 20-30% more by 12 months, at which time you will have the final result.

• Sometimes transplanted hair may grow in a different texture at first, as the follicle’s ability to form a normal cuticle re-adjusts. It will straighten out over time.

• The cost of hair transplant surgery depends on the area to be covered. Some surgeons charge per follicle or graft and some charge per session. The procedure generally varies between $5,000 to $15,000.

• The hair transplant procedure can be repeated after a year as the scalp stretches, as long as your surgeon says you have enough healthy hair to transplant.