Hair Transplant Surgery Procedures
Do you suffer from thinning hair? Bald spots? Both men and women can do something about it. There are hair surgery procedures available today that can take hair follicles from other, healthy areas and use them to replace lost or thinning hair. These procedures require little more than a local anesthetic and can show results in as little as 1-2 months. The level of discomfort is typically very moderate, and there is very little pain involved (if any).
One of the most successful hair transplantation procedures is Follicular Unit Strip Surgery (FUSS). FUSS is when the hair surgeon takes a strip (or more than one) from along the bottom back of your head (an area usually unaffected by hair loss) and relocates it to the bald or thinning area. This popular process can give you a look that’s natural, healthy and permanent. Since it’s a transplant of your own hair, there’s not any problem with your body accepting the transplant. About the only drawback is some potential scarring in the donor locations, but this is covered by your remaining hair.
For smaller hair loss areas, you can get the follicular unit extraction (FUE) procedure performed. Unlike FUSS< which uses large section of donor scalp, FUE takes much smaller donor hair from the back of your head, or even your chest or thighs. This procedure is sometimes used in conjunction with FUSS to make sure all bald areas are covered.
Both Follicular Unit Strip Surgery and Follicular Unit Extraction require a local anesthetic and recovery can involve discomfort, but rarely any pain. Replanted hair typically goes through a period of shedding (falling out) before new growth begins. The transplanted hair falls out in 2 to 4 weeks and new hair starts growing. It can take 3 to 4 months for the new hair to fully grow in, after which you’ll see normal growth of about a half-inch a month.
Replanted hair areas occasionally develop small scabs, but these scabs heal within 4 to 10 days. A few patients may experience swelling, but, too, resolves within the first few days of the procedure. Skin irritation is another side effect. If irritation occurs, the doctor will provide a medicated shampoo for you to use until the irritation goes away.
The third hair replacement technique is much more involved. It’s called Scalp Reduction and can only be done on the top of the head. A scalp reduction is when the surgeon removes an area of bald scalp, stretches the remaining scalp (with hair) to cover it, then stitches it up. The stitched area shows no hair growth and will be a visible scar until the hair grows to cover it. A scalp reduction can only be used to treat and area 2 to 5 centimeters wide at one time, and patient who opt for this may need multiple operations to completely remove the bald area. There has to be enough time between surgeries to allow for your scalp skin to recover it’s elasticity. This is a more painful procedure with more risks then FUSS or FUE, and the expense here is greater as well.
Regardless of what procedure you choose, you’ll be advised to void heavy physical activities for 2 weeks after having surgery. Some people can go back to work within the next few days (or sooner), while others will need up to a week to recover. Cost for FUSS or FUE starts around $1500 and will vary depending on location and what physician you use. Scalp reduction surgery is more expensive. Whatever procedure you choose, it’s important to work with the surgeon through the procedure to maximize your results and recover as quickly as possible.