Hair transplant is a popular surgery for its different benefits. Among its clearest advantages is the fact that it does not leave scars; it is not painful and does not require hospital admission. In addition to that the surgery is simple for doctors and they do not consider it a surgery plus the recovery after it is in very short time
However, before you go for the hair implant; You need to know a little more about this procedure and its effectiveness, Keep reading!
What is Hair Transplantation?
Hair-by-hair hair transplantation is a surgical procedure with definitive results for baldness. Currently, alopecia is treated in different ways, if the baldness is not advanced or is just beginning, it can be treated with non-invasive treatments to prevent hair loss.
The hair implant consists of extracting a strip of skin with their respective hair follicles from the occipital area (nape); which are taken from this strip by specialized personnel, who will place the extracted follicles in the alopecic areas. About 9-10 professionals (3-4 doctors, 5-6 technicians and a nurse) take part in this procedure.
It is necessary to separate the follicles and implant them one by one. This requires teamwork for several hours (usually the surgery lasts about 5-6 hours). However, on a medical level, hair transplantation is a totally safe intervention, which is performed on an outpatient basis (the patient is not admitted); and through local anesthesia.
Different techniques for performing hair implants Hair implants or transplants aim to correct male or female alopecic areas. Hair loss is a big issue for us due to couple of factors some of them are natural such as genetic, hormonal and age factors. Although they mainly affect men, women can also suffer from this disorder.
The implant or hair transplant is the only means by which the hair mass can be recovered or the areas that have little volume can be dandified. However, it should be noted that it is also a useful resource to repopulate eyebrows, eyelashes, beard, etc.
Hair implant techniques
There are two procedures to be able to extract hair follicles from areas where the hair does not fall to implant them or transplant them in those where it has fallen.
Follicular unit extraction (FUE): this technique is known as the most advanced micrograft technique because the follicular units are extracted one by one and accompanied by their peripollicular structures without the need for cuts. Subsequently, they are implanted in the area that you want to repopulate without leaving scars. It is a procedure that can cause some discomfort for which sedation is used. The usual areas where the hair to be transplanted is extracted are the temporal, occipital and parietal scalp. It is done in such a way that the areas from which the transplanted hair has been extracted maintain their appearance in terms of capillary density.
Depending on the extension of the area to be repopulated, more or fewer sessions will be needed. Around 3,000 hair follicles are transplanted in each session. This technique is used when hair loss is limited, affecting small areas, or to increase hair density in those areas where there is an obvious hair lightening.
Extraction of follicular units with a strip (FUT or FUSS): it is a more strong tough technique for the patients, since a strip of scalp is almost extension for 15 to 20 centimeters long and 1 wide is cut from the nape of the neck. Then it is cut into small pieces, dividing it into follicular micro-units that are then implanted within the micro-incisions that have been made in the area to be repopulated. An outer line of fine micro-incisions is created for the hair that will be seen externally and should offer a natural look and other, wider micro-incisions that are located behind and are created to give density to the area. This procedure is done under anesthesia.
More than 3,000 follicles are implanted in each session, but several sessions are necessary to obtain optimal results. Obviously, this technique leaves a large scar) on the back of the head, from where it was removed. It takes about 14 days before removing the stitches, the recovery is somewhat painful. It is the technique of choice for cases of alopecia that affects large areas of the scalp. Sometimes, this technique is complemented with a FUE session, in order to obtain follicles from the sides of the scalp. Advantages of implant techniques
There is no better technique than another, each one has advantages and disadvantages that should be assessed according to the circumstances of each patient. In both cases, the final result of the hair implant can be very impressive, especially in the medium term, since initially the transplanted hair falls out and then grows strongly.
Advantages with the FUE technique:
- This technique does not leave scars, so it is highly recommended for people with short hair.
- When the area to be repopulated is not very large or to cover scars left by the FUSS technique, it is better to use this method.
- If the patient does not have very thick areas of hair to donate, it is better this technique that can extract follicles from different areas of the scalp.
- It offers definitive results because the transplanted follicles have the same genetic characteristics of the recipient area and thus there is no rejection.
Advantages with the FUSS technique:
- A high number of grafts is obtained in a short time.
- Fewer sessions are needed to get good results.
- As a consequence the cost is lower.
- It is recommended for patients who have large areas to repopulate.
- It offers definitive results because the transplanted follicles have the same genetic characteristics of the recipient area and thus there is no rejection.