5 Steps to Hair Transplant Surgery
When an aging population lives in a society that is determined
not to grow old, people will push the limits to appear younger
than they are. For example, 30, even 20 years ago a procedure
such as hair transplant surgery would have seemed bazaar at
best, ludicrous at worse. However, today it is a fairly
mainstream way for people, mostly men, to retain some of the
youthful appearance they hold dear. While this procedure is a
growing trend, there are still a great many people who do not
know how it is done, the following information will explain the
procedure and answer some questions.
1- As a man ages, he looses hair. There is not much that can be
done to stop this from happening. There are topical and oral
drugs that can be taken to slow the process, but if they are
stopped, the hair loss resumes. A person can use cover ups such
as toupees or hair weaves, but they really do not look very
natural. Enter the hair transplant surgery. This surgery
utilizes hair from the body (normally the back of the head) that
is not programmed to fall out to replace the missing follicles.
But how do they do it?
2- The first step involved in a hair transplant is for the
surgeon to draw a replacement hairline for the patient. Then the
scalp is numbed and the donor hairs, usually from the back of
the head, are shaved. Once this is completed, the skin that the
donor hairs are attached to is removed from the head.
3- The scalp then gets sutured or stapled together and the donor
hairs are given to technicians. The technicians remove each
individual hair follicle and place them into a saline solution
where they will await transplant. In the mean time, the surgeon
is busy cutting small incisions into the front of the head
within the hairline that was drawn earlier. There needs to be a
separate incision for every follicle that is to be transplanted.
This number can be as high as 2,000 per transplant.
4- Once the surgeon has all of the cuts made, it is time to
insert each hair follicle. This is done on an individual basis,
very carefully, to ensure that the follicles are inserted in the
right direction allowing the hair to grow straight. The doctor
then examines the work that has been completed, when the desired
result has been obtained, the hair transplant is finished.
5- In about a week or so, the incisions have started to heal,
the scabs have fallen off, however, it will take up to a year
for real hair growth to appear. In order to avoid further hair
transplant procedures from needing to be performed, it is
recommended that the patient use a drug such as Propecia. The
continued use of this drug will help to minimize the need for
another surgery.