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| About This Resource: |
Understanding Hair Transplants
is designed as a simple, patient-friendly introduction into the confusing
world of hair transplants. A hair transplant performed with the latest
techniques is virtually undetectable, but many hair transplant consumers
are unaware of these improved methods. This online hair transplant resource
teaches men and women the essentials so that they can make the right decision.
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Considering a Hair Transplant?
The decision to have a hair transplant must be made
intelligently. This depends on developing a thorough understanding
of numerous issues.
...Part One...
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
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First and foremost, the person considering a transplant must determine
whether his expectations are realistic. Most men assume they will
be able to have their baldness filled in entirely. If someone has
a few small areas to repair, that is possible, but if someone’s
balding is advanced, he probably will not have enough hair to donate
to fill in all of the areas. It must be remembered that we are rearranging
hair, not creating new hair. On occasion, I suggest to patients in
consultation that with their high levels of expectation regarding
the amount of hair they will need to be happy, that they should probably
purchase a hairpiece instead of a transplant.
 Figure
6-1. A) Coarse, curly hair will appear much more dense
than B) fine, straight hair. The same number of hair shafts
are present in both “A” and “B”. |
How much coverage someone can expect is dependent on several factors.
Not surprisingly, the greatest is the degree of hair loss. A person
with advanced balding (Norwood type V-VII) should probably not expect
to have all of the areas of hair loss transplanted. Also of paramount
of importance is the quality of the donor hair. The greater the caliber
of the hair shaft and the greater the curl, the better the results
will be. A patient with large caliber, wavy hair may appear to get
double or triple the coverage compared with someone with very fine,
straight hair if the same number of follicular units are moved in
each patient. Obviously, the number of follicular units moved and
the number of sessions will play a role in the amount of coverage.
Single transplant sessions of 2000 to 3000 follicular units are now
the norm in many clinics. Other variables include the density of the
donor hair (the greater, the better, of course) and the laxity of
the scalp. After each session, the area where the donor strip is removed
is sutured shut. In most men after a transplant, the skin in the donor
area of the scalp gradually relaxes. If that patient still has adequate
donor hair, additional strips can be removed and again sutured. Unfortunately,
after transplants in some men, the back of the scalp starts to become
tighter, making subsequent excisions and repairs limited or impossible.
Finally, the patient’s age must be taken into consideration.
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