Surgical hair restoration/ Hair Transplantation

Hair transplant surgery is an operation which takes hair from the back of the head and transplants it to the area of hair loss. Hair may be transplanted onto the head, face, eyebrows or upper lip.

Techniques Available

Scalp flaps: This involves the moving of tissue from one area of the scalp to another. It is now used for reconstruction of the scalp following trauma or burns.

Scalp reduction: This is a technique where a bald area is reduced in size by removing a segment of bald scalp skin and pulling the edges together.

Plug Grafts: 3-4 mm round plug grafts are implanted through from the back of the head to the bald areas. This procedure has been abandoned now due to its characteristic and unnatural appearance.

Follicular hair transplantation: The new accepted techniques of hair restoration are based on groups of 1-4 follicles transplanted as a single graft. These procedures can be further demarcated into micro and mini grafting techniques. Over the past few years single follicle transplantation has become the procedure of choice for hair restoration.

Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) is the newest method for what is called the Direct Hair Transplant technique. It is based on the follicular units being harvested individually using specially- designed precise micro-surgical tools less than a millimeter in diameter.

About the Surgery

Hair transplantation is usually done under Local Anesthesia.

Once the anesthetic has taken effect, your surgeon will make an incision in the occipital region and remove a narrow strip of skin. The incision is then closed using stitches. This part of the operation usually lasts less than an hour. You will be awake and back in your room while the follicles are being processed, and will return to the operation theatre when they are ready for grafting. The second half of the procedure may take 3 - 6 hours, depending on the number of follicles that are to be grafted.

After you have this operation you will have a 'U' shaped scar that stretches from behind one ear to the other. This is usually hidden beneath your hair.