Discussion of procedure for hair transplantation

Hair transplantation is the most effective method of dealing with male pattern baldness. The surgery involves removal of the scalp’s hair-bearing portion and transplanting it onto the bald patch. Recent technological advances have made hair transplantation so convenient and affordable that it is today the most popular method of medical hair restoration.

Besides the hair transplantation method of medical hair restoration there are other options for surgical hair restoration, Propecia being a prominent one.

Hair transplantation surgery is a delicate affair calling for a series of precautions. In the surgery that takes about four hours the scalp is treated with certain antibacterial chemicals and then shampooed.

The surgery involves harvesting a strip of hair from the scalp’s hairy area, or the donor strip, that measures 1-1.5 x 15-30 cm. Great care is taken while removing the excess fatty tissue to ensure that the vital follicular cells come to no harm. Using binocular microscopes for close inspection the surgeon punctures the graft-receiving sites with a fine needle. These are then arranged according to a predetermined density and pattern and the individual grafts placed on the problem patches. Normally 50 grafts per square centimeter are considered enough for providing acceptable hair density.

When done properly this method of medical hair restoration can yield breathtaking results. It becomes hard to tell whether the hair is natural or been transplanted. Surgery is also convenient because much less time is used up in separating the follicular units and their transplantation in the problem areas.

In hair transplantation surgery it is also possible to save the follicular units from iatrogenic injuries that bedevil the dissection phase and during placement of grafts.

Several precautions are taken while conducting hair transplantation surgery, of which the patient is informed in advance. S/he also decides whether to go in for single or multiple sessions. But it is important that no medicine other than the antibiotics prescribed by the surgeon is taken and the patient stays off alcohol for a designated period before surgery.

The operated area must not be shampooed or exposed to sunlight for some days after surgery. And don’t get scared if some of the hair falls off in the displaced area. This is part of the process of hair renewal and re-growth takes just a few months to resume.

After the hair transplantation surgery the patient loses hair in only the areas where none was transplanted. Whether to go in for medication or hair transplantation treatment of the untreated areas is the patient’s prerogative. But if he s/he has opted for surgery in one portion it makes sense to repeat it in the newly balding areas as well. For remember that medication isn’t half as effective as transplantation in these extreme cases.