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HAIR RESTORATION AND HAIR TRANSPLANT SURGERY
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The goal in hair restoration is natural appearing results. Improvements in the field of hair transplantat surgery and hair restoration have developed with that goal in mind. The most recent development is the follicular hair transplant unit grafting technique, which relies upon microscopic dissection to produce grafts, each containing a follicular unit, the natural bundling of 1 to 4 hairs, with a minimal amount of non-hair-bearing surrounding skin. For patients desiring surgical hair restoration, proponents of follicular unit grafting advocate the technique's superior results. Detractors point to the technical challenges of performing the procedure, with the need for a staff of trained assistants for the microscopic dissection. What is clear is that this demanding hair transplant procedure is taking the field of hair restoration the closest to its ultimate goal, un-detect ability.
Over the past several years, hair transplant surgery using follicular unit grafting has emerged as the most reliable hair restoration technique for natural appearing results. The follicular unit graft consists of a single follicular unit, the way hair grows in the scalp, in tiny bundles of 1 to 4, most commonly 2 and 3 hairs.
Transplanting exclusively with these follicular unit grafts theoretically creates the most natural appearing hair restoration. Of course, the follicular unit is merely the building block; a natural appearing result is attained through proper hairline design and other aesthetic considerations of the hair transplant surgery.
The dissection and subsequent placement of as many as 3,000 follicular units is a demanding process. Proponents of this hair restoration procedure feel that the extra time and expense required is justified by the improved results and other several significant advantages. Microscopic dissection results in grafts that are smaller, containing a minimum of scalp skin. These grafts can be placed into smaller recipient sites, theoretically allowing for greater hair density, faster healing, and less trauma to already existing hairs in the recipient area. In addition, transplanting grafts with a smaller "cuff" of skin minimizes changes in pigmentation and texture of the recipient scalp. Microscopic dissection of the donor hairs minimizes accidental trans section and subsequent demise, with studies confirming as much as a 20% increase in new hair yield through this higly successful hair transpalnt surgery technique. Finally, another advantage of microscopic visualization is the ability to accurately identify and separate grafts according to the number of hairs each one contains.
What to Expect Following Hair Transplant Surgery
After your hair transplant and hair restoration procedure, you will be given written instructions that explain in detail how to care for your scalp until your return visit. Prescriptions for medications may be given at that time (or before the procedure). Most doctors give their patients an analgesic such as Tylenol with codeine. Antibiotics may be prescribed to prevent infection. Some doctors give medication to prevent swelling, although these have limited value. Tranquilizers and sleeping medications are prescribed to help the patient over the first few days of healing.
Immediately following your hair transplant surgery, your grafts are held in place by fibrin (the body's natural glue) produced by a chemical reaction in serum when the graft sites are made. The grafts are loosely held in place for the first 2-3 days and become fully secure at about the eighth day. The hairs that are present in your new grafts usually fall out during the first 2-6 weeks after the hair restoration procedure (see Growth of New Hair section below). At this time, the patient will usually look just like he did before the hair transplant. Follicular Unit Transplantation is a relatively minor surgical procedure; most patients recover in several days, and many return to work right away. Some discomfort generally exists in the donor site for a few days after the hair transplant surgery. The discomfort is best managed beyond the first day in most patients with Tylenol (with or without codeine). Athletic activities should be restricted for 1-2 weeks. Some limited restrictions apply in the second week. Although we caution patients not to put undue stress on the donor area for several months, normal activity may be resumed 1-2 weeks after the procedure.
There are several different approaches to post-surgical hair transplant and hair restoration treatment. The patient may leave with no bandage after the surgery or they may be given a small sweatband to keep pressure on the donor area. The recipient area is left open or lightly covered. This enables the transplanted area to be exposed to the air for drying and healing.
Patients often worry about the potential visibility of their new hair grafts. Scabs that tend to form on the scalp surface should be washed off as they accumulate for the first few days following the hair transplant surgery. With the very small sites used in Follicular Unit Transplantation, no new crusts will form after the second day. Other than the stubble of transplanted hair and some faint redness, the transplant should not be visible after the first week.
For those individuals who wash their transplanted grafts well, the full extent of the hair transplant looks and feels (in the days following the procedure) just like a five o'clock shadow. Swelling of the forehead is present in 25% of patients between the third and fifth day, but rarely lasts more than one day. Rarely, swelling of the eyelids occurs. |
Beverly Hills hair transplant surgeon and hair restoration speialist Dr. Kayem provides these procedures to both men and women on an outpatient procedure at his Screenland Medical surgery center in Culver City, Los Angeles.
For more information about hair transplants or hair restoration, or to schedule your complimentary consultation with Los Angeles hiar transplant surgeon and specialist Dr. Kyem, please call our office at 310.204.4111.
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