Hair is the crown that we never take off. Hair is an important part of our image. Thick hair, strong hair has always been a symbol of beauty, good health, and youth. By the age of 50, more than 50% of men experience male pattern baldness and about 50% of women experience female pattern baldness. Now you must be thinking, why is this doctor talking about hair today? That’s because our topic today is hair transplant.
Today I will try to solve your abstract doubts related to hair transplant.
Hair Transplant is a very successful and predictable cosmetic surgery. The patients who come to me for hair transplant or hair loss treatment are lacking in self-esteem. They worry about future hair loss problems and have a lot of questions regarding hair transplant like is hair transplant treatment necessary for me? Should I have any other tests done before this statement? What care should be taken after the treatment? How long will one have to wait for the result? How effective is this treatment and how much does it cost? So let me answer them one by one.
What is hair transplant?
Hair loss is genetically programmed. The main reason for this is androgenic alopecia. Usually, in baldness, family history is present. Hormones and many nutritional deficiencies or diseases cause genetically programmed hair loss to occur very rapidly.
Hereditary – This is the main cause of hair loss in which baldness increases with age. This is called androgenic alopecia, or male pattern baldness and female pattern baldness.
Hormonal changes- The hormonal changes that occur due to pregnancy, menopause, and thyroid problem cause temporary or permanent hair loss.
Medical conditions – The main cause of patchy hair loss is alopecia areata which is an autoimmune disease, caused due to ringworm infection or trichotillomania, which is called hair-pulling disorder. Psoriasis, diabetes, folliculitis and lupus, these diseases also cause hair loss.
Medications -Hair loss is a side effect of medicines taken to treat cancer, arthritis, heart problem, gout, and high blood pressure.
Stress – Excessive hair shedding occurs due to physical stress like surgery, high-grade fever, and blood loss. Psychological stress like mental stress and anxiety are also common problems leading to hair loss.
Poor nutrition – Lack of zinc and iron leads to hair loss. Hair loss also occurs due to deficiency of Vit.D3, Vit B12, biotin, and selenium.
Hairstyle and treatment – The hair loss caused by excessive hairstyling in which the hairs are tightly pulled is called traction alopecia. Hot oil and hair treatment or hair straightening in which heat is used causes temporary hair loss. For many women, if scars are formed after these treatments, then the hair loss is permanent.
What treatment is done for hair loss?
Lifestyle modification – The first thing I recommend to all the patients who consult us for hair loss problems is lifestyle modification like daily exercise, proper diet, meditation, and other stress management strategies.
Nutritional supplements – We use Minoxidil solution, finasteride, PRP therapy, Microneedling, nutritional supplements containing zinc, biotin, Vit D, and laser light treatment in medical treatment.
Surgical treatment – Hair Transplant is the only treatment available for baldness. Many times we also do fat grafting in the patient so that the results of the hair transplant are good.
Which patients need a hair transplant?
Those patients who have permanent hair loss or baldness, whose age is more than 25 years, who have sufficient donor hairs, and hair loss is not due to active inflammatory disease, can do hair transplant.
Who should not have a hair transplant?
If they have active inflammatory scarring alopecia or the doctor diagnoses the cause of their hair loss as lichen planopilaris, or frontal fibrosing alopecia, then they should not do hair transplant. If there is nonscarring alopecia due to alopecia areata, telogen effluvium, anagen effluvium, then hair transplant should not be done, patients who have limited donor area and whose requirement is very high should not do hair transplant. Patients who have diffuse hair loss which also involves the donor area, patients who are on blood thinners or drugs that cannot be discontinued and patients with unrealistic expectations are not good candidates for hair transplants.
What tests are to be done before hair transplant?
To know the reason for hair loss, we conduct such tests as VIT D3, thyroid function tests, ferritin levels, Vit B12, and if required Testosterone, prolactin, etc. CBC, LFT, RFT, PT/PI/INR, chest x-ray, ECG tests are also done for surgery fitness.
How is hair transplant done?
First of all, we mark the recipient area where the hair transplant is to be done then local anesthesia is given. All the follicles that need to be removed are removed from the area behind the head or from the beard or the body. After making a hole in the front bald area, the hair transplant is done there. This process takes approximately 6 to 8 hours.
What are different types of hair transplant techniques? That is, what are the different types of hair transplants?
FUE (Follicular unit extraction) and FUT (Follicular unit transplantation) methods are commonly used to extract or remove hairs. FUE means that each hair root is extracted after it is punched individually. FUT means the strip of skin is removed after which individual hair follicles are cut from there. If a robotic machine, like Artas hair transplant, is used to extract hair roots, then it is called robotic hair transplant. In the direct instantaneous hair transplant technique the hairs are extracted with FUE technique and implanted simultaneously so that the hairs remain outside the body for the minimum amount of time.
Which technology should be used when?
Many times you read or hear that FUE is better than FUT. If seen practically, each technique has its pros and cons. Like, the advantage of FUE is that it is a scarless surgery. Its disadvantages are that a lot of yield from the graft cannot be obtained, it depends on the donor area. The advantage for FUT is that more grafts are available but the disadvantages are long scars, although we hide them with a different technique. Generally, we prefer FUE if there is a requirement of 4000 to 4500 follicles and if more than 4500 follicles are required, then we combine FUE and FUT so that maximum grafts can be implanted.
How to prepare for hair transplant surgery?
If you smoke, then stop smoking 3 weeks before the surgery. If you consume alcohol, then stop drinking at least 1 week before the surgery. You should discontinue applying Minoxidil lotion 10 days before. If you take any mineral supplements or blood thinner drugs, then stop taking them 2 weeks before. Let the hair grow and do not cut it so that it is easy for us to mark. Wash your hair with Betasrub on the evening before the surgery and on the morning of the surgery. Do not apply oil to the hair on the day of the surgery. Wearing an open button shirt on the day of the surgery and having a friend or relative or parents is a must.
What care should you take after surgery?
You will be prescribed painkillers and antibiotics, which you have to take for 5 days.
You should not scratch the implanted hair. You should sleep straight so that the implanted hairs will not be damaged. The hair should be kept wet with normal saline for the first 5 days. Head wash can be started from the 6th day. You will have to use a surgical cap for 3 weeks and you should protect your hair from sunlight.
When to expect results?
Hair shaft shedding occurs for 3 months after hair transplant and follicles are left behind. Hair grows slowly from these follicles. After 6 to 9 months, hair regrowth is complete. We routinely use PRP treatment after a hair transplant, so most of the hair growth usually occurs in five to six months.
Price of Hair Transplant surgery
Hair transplant surgery is art. The results of the hair transplant depend on the skill of the hair transplant surgeon. Hair transplant is a process in which the surgeon and hair transplant technicians work in tandem, that is, they work together. Any plastic surgeon or experienced dermatologist will charge a decent amount for hair transplant as they can give you better results. The hair transplant cost at our clinic ranges from 60,000 to 200000.
If you have to do a hair transplant then you need to know that a hair transplant is an irreversible procedure because hair roots are limited so if you are doing a hair transplant for the first time then get it right the first time only. Choose a plastic surgeon or experienced dermatologist because if you get a hair transplant done by inexperienced and unqualified people for less money then you can get suboptimal results. Along with this, you will lose valuable hair roots, and then it will be a bit difficult to get a good result due to a lack of roots at the time of the second hair transplant. I hope a lot of your doubts related to hair transplant have been cleared. If you have any further questions you can contact us.