What is a Hair Transplant? Procedure, Recovery, Complications and Long-term Outlook

What is a Hair transplant?

A Hair transplant is a policy in which a plastic or dermatological surgeon moves hair to a bald part of the head. However, the surgeon usually proceeds with hair from the back or side of the head to the front or top of the head.

Typically, a hair transplant may occur in a medical care office under local anesthesia. Similarly, pattern baldness is responsible for the seniority of hair loss. This process comes down to genetics. However, their endure cases due to a variety of factors, including:-

  • Diet
  • Stress
  • Illness
  • Hormonal imbalance
  • Medications

Are there different kinds of Hair Transplants?

However, there are two transplant procedures: slit grafts and micrografts. Slit grafts hold 4 to 10 hairs per graft. Similarly, micrografts have 1 to 2 inches per graft, depending on the coverage required.

Who might profit from a Hair Transplant?

Receiving a hair transplant can increase your appearance and self-confidence. However, better candidates for a hair transplant may include:-

  • Men with male pattern baldness
  • Women with thinning hair
  • Anyone who has lost some hair from a burn or scalp injury

A hair transplant is not a good option for:-

  • Women with a general pattern of hair loss throughout the scalp
  • Some people who do not have enough donor hair parts from which to draw off hair for transplant
  • People who form keloid scars (thick, fibrous scars) behind injury or surgery
  • People whose hair loss is due to medication like chemotherapy

What happens during a Hair Transplant?

After thoroughly cleaning your scalp, a physician uses a small needle to numb an area of your head with local anesthesia. However, two main options are used to obtain follicles for transplantation: FUT and FUE. In follicular unit transplantation (FUT):-

  • The scalp skin strip from the head’s backrip of scalp skin from the back of the head. Typically, the incision is several inches long.
  • This is secured with stitches.
  • The physician next separates the drawn-off portion of the scalp into small sections using a magnifying lens and sharp surgical knife. When implanted, these sections will support gain natural-looking hair growth.

In FUE, the hair follicles give up directly from the back of the head through hundreds to thousands of tiny punch incisions.

  • The physician makes tiny holes with a blade or needle in your scalp, accepting the hair transplant in these holes.
  • A physician may try to plant hundreds or even thousands of hairs during one treatment period.
  • Behind, the graft, gauze, or bandages will balance your scalp for a few days.

However, a hair transplant period can take four hours or more. Your stitches will be taken out about ten days after the surgery. You may need up to three or four sessions to attain the full head of hair you desire. Sessions may occur several months apart to allow each transplant to heal fully.

What happens after a Hair Transplant?

Your scalp may be sore, and you may require to take medication following hair transplant surgery, including:-

  • Pain medication
  • Antibiotics to decrease your risk of infection
  • Anti-inflammatory medications to keep swelling down

It is simple for the transplanted hair to lose out two to three weeks after the procedure. This makes way for hair regrowth. Many people will see few amounts of new hair growth 8 to 12 months after surgery.

Many physicians prescribe minoxidil or hair growth medication finasteride (Propecia) to upgrade hair regrowth. However, these medications also support slowing or stopping future hair fall.

What are the possible complications associated with a Hair Transplant?

Some possible complications from a hair transplant are usually minor and clear up within a few weeks. They may include:-

  • Bleeding
  • Infection
  • Swelling on the scalp
  • Bruising around the eyes
  • A crust that forms on the sites of the scalp where hair was removed or implanted
  • Lack of sensation on the treated sites of the scalp
  • Itching
  • Inflammation or infection of the hair follicles, which is called folliculitis
  • Shock loss, or sudden but typically short-term loss of the transplanted hair
  • Unnatural-looking tufts of hair

What is the long-term outlook?

Typically, people who have had a hair replacement will continue to grow hair in the transplanted areas of the scalp. The new hair may look more or less dense depending on:-

  • The density of follicles in the replaced zone
  • Hair caliber or quality
  • Hair curl

However, suppose you do not use medication( like minoxidil or finasteride) or undergo a low level of laser therapy. In that case, you may continue to feel hair fall in nontreated areas of your scalp. Similarly, discussing the expected result with your physician and developing realistic expectations is more critical.

Last Updated on July 28, 2023 by john liam