HAARTRANSPLANTATION

WHAT IS A HAIR TRANSPLANT?

Modern hair transplant surgery is a redistribution of hair. It involves removing hair follicles from one region, in most cases this is the scalp, and grafting them in the envisaged location on the head. In a modern hair restoration surgery, only single follicles or follicular units are transplanted. This guarantees a natural looking result. A hair transplant that has been carried out well cannot be detected by onlookers. Hair transplants are performed under local anaesthesia. The patients are typically awake or in a light twilight sleep.

Two separate methods of removing hair from the back of the head can be identified:

STRIP HARVESTING | FUT

In the strip harvesting method, a strip of hair with hair follicles is harvested, usually from the back of the patient’s head. The removed strip is carefully divided first into fine strips and finally into tiny hair grafts containing one follicular unit (follicular unit graft) each.

The grafts are prepared under a magnifying glass; skin and grafts are constantly kept sterile, cool and moist.

Strip removal is particularly suited for patients with long hair for whom it is unacceptable to shave the donor area. Sometime strip surgery is necessary when more hair grafts are needed and not enough hair can be harvested with the FUE technique. The wound at the back of the head will be stitched employing a so-called trichophytic closure, which means that hair will grow through the scarring tissue. This technique ensures reduced visibility of the scar, even if the hair is worn short. Nonetheless, patients should remember to always wear their hair at least one centimetre long.

The duration of a hair transplant surgery is, depending on the number of grafts, 5 – 8 hours.

FOLLICULAR UNIT EXCISION | FUE

When the hair is harvested with FUE (follicular unit excision or extraction) the donor area is shaved to a length of up to 2mm, and single follicles are harvested with a tiny punch or a hollow-bore needle.

Follicular unit extractions are particularly suited for patients who wish to wear their hair extremely short. The absolute number of FUE grafts depends on hair density and the size of the hormone-insensitive area on the back head.

The choice of the right harvesting technique depends on the total number of hairs required, the hair structure and the haircut preferred by the patient. FUE will leave small, dot-like scars at the back of the head which usually are hardly visible and allow for a significantly shorter haircut. Follicular unit excision is more time-consuming for the patient than strip harvesting and, if the session is more extensive, is carried out on two consecutive days.

For further information on hair and scalp disorders and treatment of alopecia

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