HAIR TRANSPLANTATION

Hair transplantation is a surgically minimally invasive procedure where hair grafts gets removed from one part of the body; the donor site which is mostly the back and side part of the scalp and genetically resistant to balding; to a bald or balding part of the body; the recipient area which is mostly the upper and front part of the scalp. Hair transplantation procedures are primarily used to treat male pattern baldness but it also can be used to restore i.e. eyebrows, beard hair, and to fill in scars caused by accidents.

There are several different techniques, but nowadays there are 3 different main techniques available for harvesting and transplant hair grafts, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Regardless of the harvesting technique, proper extraction of the hair graft with its follicles is the most important part of the procedure.

Nowadays 3 different techniques are available, where not every technique is suitable for any patient. FUT (Follicular unit transplantation), FUE (Follicular unit extraction) and DHI (Direct Hair Transplant)

FUT method, also known as the strip procedure, where a patient's hair is transplanted in naturally occurring groups of 1 to 4 hairs, called grafts. By usage of a scalpel, the surgeon removes a piece of the scalp (usually from the back head). Than by using a needle or blade, the surgeon makes small holes into the recipient area to where the hair will be transplanted. The hairs got inserted from the removed piece of scalp into the puncture holes.

FUE method is a technique where the required amount of hair groupings (grafts) are extracted from the patient's bald resistant donor areas and are then transplanted in the balding or thinning areas of the patient's scalp. During FUE, the canals need to be opened prior to implantation and the surgeon manually implants the extracted grafts.

DHI method enables the hair transplant to be performed without shaving the head. Hair grafts and their follicles are transplanted in about 1-2 minutes after the extraction process so they only remain outside the body for a very short time period. The main difference between FUE and DHI is the way grafts are implanted into the recipient area. During FUE, the canals need to be opened prior to implantation meanwhile during DHI, a specific implanter tool (Choi Implanter Pen) is used directly t open and implant at the same time.

All procedures are performed outpatient. While consultation the surgeon will provide information of how much time is needed for the hair transplantation which varies in reference to method and degree of transplantation, in general 1 up to may 2 days. In some cases more than 1 session; with a larger time period in between is required.