Hair is an important contributing factor to a person’s overall appearance and having a head full of hair is something almost everyone aspires to. However, with the current environment causing more stress and bad lifestyle choices, this may not be a reality for most people. Instead, permanent hair loss and partial or full baldness is what they are faced with. To counter this negative impact of the environment, there are some medical interventions, which have been found very effective like the hair transplant procedure.
The obvious question then is, what is this method and from where can one get the best hair transplant done? So, to begin with let us understand in absolutely simple terms, what is the hair transplant procedure. Hair transplant is a surgical procedure for hair restoration and must be conducted only by qualified professionals. Before going in for the hair transplant surgery, make sure to find out the credentials and experience of your surgeon.
During the hair transplant surgery, the surgeon will first numb the area of the scalp, where the surgery is to be performed, with local anaesthesia. Then healthy hair follicles are extracted from one area of the scalp where the density of natural hair is very high. This is called the donor area. It is also important to know that the hair transplant cost also varies depending on the density, volume, colour, texture and general health of the hair in the donor area.
The hair follicles, each containing anywhere between one to four hair strands, are then grafted on to another area of the scalp, where the density is very low or hair is completely missing. This is known as the recipient area. Only after the hair follicles are transplanted on to the recipient area, is the surgery considered complete.
A major classification in the techniques of hair transplant is dependent on the method by which hair follicles are extracted from the donor area. There are two types of hair transplant techniques that are most popular
Follicular Unit Transplant (FUT) or Follicular Unit Strip Surgery (FUSS)
This is the more traditional method of hair transplant. In this method, the surgeon removes a strip of tissue with hair follicles from the donor area. The wound is then stitched up. This leaves behind a scar, which is easily covered by the remaining hair in the region.
The hair follicles from the removed strip are then cut into anywhere between 500 to 2000 grafts, which are then carefully placed on to the recipient area. As is evident, the entire process is quite exhaustive and time consuming. Hence, the surgeon will definitely need the help from trained and professional support staff. All these factors help to determine the hair transplant cost.
Follicular Unit Extractions (FUE)
The second and more recent method of hair transplant is Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE). In this method, no strip is removed. Hence, there is no linear scarring or slower recovery. Instead, the surgeon picks out healthy follicles from the donor area, one by one, and directly grafts them on the recipient area.
FUE is a minimally invasive procedure, leading to minimal scarring and a much faster recovery. This is possible due to the specialized instruments with extremely small diameter, allowing to remove the follicular unit one by one. Since the method uses more sophisticated equipment and has faster recovery times, along with better results, the hair transplant cost in case of FUE is higher than that of FUT.
There are certain things that one needs to remember when going for the procedure. Even if they get the best hair transplant, the results may take some time to fully appear and they may have to go for additional sittings even after that. Normally, immediately after the surgery, the scalp is very sensitive and may hurt. Your doctor will give you medicine as well as advice to manage that.
You can join work after 3-5 days and your doctor will advise you to avoid strenuous physical exercise for a few months. The hair transplanted during the surgery will fall out on its own, after some time. When fresh hair grows out of this transplant, only then can you gauge the actual results of the surgery. This may take up to 6 months for some people.
