Hair Transplant

What is Hair Transplantation?

It is the type of surgery that moves the hair you really need to fill in an area with thin or no hair. Doctors have performed these implants in the United States since the 1950s, but techniques have changed a lot in recent years.
The operation is usually performed in a doctor's office. First, the surgeon cleans your scalp and injects medication to numb the back of your head. Your doctor will choose one of two implantation methods: Follicular Unit Slice Surgery (FUSS) or Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE).

Using FUSS technology, your surgeon removes a 6 to 10 inch strip of skin from the back of your head. They put it aside and sew the scalp. This area is instantly hidden by the surrounding hair.
Then, the surgeon's team divides the strip of removed scalp into 500 to 2000 micro grafts, each with individual hairs or just a few hairs. The number and type of graft that you get depends on your hair type, quality, color, and size of the area where the transplant will take place.

If you are going to have a FUE procedure, the surgeon's team will shave the back of your scalp. Then the doctor removes the hair follicles one by one from there. The area heals with small spots that your existing hair will cover.
After this point, both procedures are the same. After preparing the grafts, the surgeon cleans and numbs the area where the hair will go, creates holes or incisions with a scalpel or needle, and gently places each graft in one of the holes. They will likely get help from other team members to plant the grafts as well.

Depending on the size of the transplant you will have, the operation will take about 4 to 8 hours. You may need another procedure later if hair loss continues or you decide you want thicker hair.

Expectations and Recovery

After surgery, your scalp may be very sensitive. You may need to take a pain reliever for several days. The surgeon will ask you to place the bandages on your scalp for at least a day or two. They may also prescribe an antibiotic or anti-inflammatory medication to take for several days. Most people are able to return to work two to five days after their operation.

Within two to three weeks after surgery, the transplanted hair will fall out, but you should start noticing new growth within a few months. Most people see 60% of new hair growth after 6 to 9 months. Some surgeons prescribe hair regrowth drug minoxidil (Rogaine) to improve hair growth after transplantation, but it is not clear how well it works.