Hair Restoration - Hair Transplant Surgery

Hair transplant surgery will take hair from the back part of the head and move in to an area that is seeing the hair loss. The back and sides of the hair on a scalp that is seeing hair loss is called the “dominant hair” and this hair will keep growing over the life of most men. The hair that is transplanted during surgery from this area does not cause it to stop growing. The dominance of donor hair is the basis, scientifically, for successful hair transplantation.

People, mostly men, that are candidates for having hair transplant surgery have enough dominant hair from the edges of the scalp so enough can be transplanted to the area that is seeing hair loss. Many patients that were losing their hair in the past were not acceptable candidates for the surgery. However there have been modern techniques that have advanced the science of hair transplants so that more men can have the surgery.

Surgery for hair transplantation has significantly improved over the last ten years. Gone are the days of hair plugs and cornrows as single hair transplants, Micro grafting and mini-grafting is the new age of hair transplantation. With the use of various hair sizes grafts, with new instruments used, hair transplant surgeons can make a naturally looking hair appearance on most men. The softest and most natural appearance can come with single hair grafting, but it does not give the hair density. However they do give a soft hairline that can be the gateway to having thicker hair. It is a surgical skill to reconstruct a brand new hairline. It is vital to do the surgery right the first time and because of this planning and thought is required. Examining the hairline of a person that is going through hair loss can show if there are small hairs in the very front of the hairline. Micro-grafts are tiny grafts that have 2 or 3 hairs carefully placed in the back of the hairline in order to gradually increase the density of the hair. Mini-grafts have 4 or more hairs that are placed in the back of the hairline so they can blend with the one hair naturally so that the density is created by the larger grafts of hair.

There are relatively small side effects when having surgery for hair transplantation. Some of the side effects can include swelling (that can move to the eye area), scabs over the grafted areas, and mild pain in the grafted area and scalp in general. It is very rare that scares occur and infections and scars are seldom seen. The hair transplant surgery is almost always predictable and comfortable for the patient.

Hair loss happens in most men’s lives and many men develop pattern baldness, usually until 40 - 45 years of age. After that time the hair thins out all over the head. Hair transplant surgery is needed if a man wants to add density to his hair. Techniques that have been created in the past several years have allowed hair surgery specialists to transplant more hair grafts, which reduces the amount of procedures that are needed in order to get the desired result.