Hair Restoration Surgery

Hair loss is primarily caused by aging, a change in hormones, and a family history of baldness. As a rule, the earlier hair loss begins, the more severe the baldness will become. Burns or trauma, in which case hair replacement surgery is considered a reconstructive treatment, and may be covered by health insurance, can also cause hair loss.

If you and your doctor have determined that hair transplants are the best option for you, you can feel comfortable knowing that board-certified cosmetic surgeons have been successfully performing this type of procedure for more than 30 years.

Are You a Candidate for Hair Transplants?

The selection of patients for hair transplant surgery is an evolving area in hair restoration surgery. Everyone who walks in the door requesting treatment is NOT a surgical candidate. The newer method of selecting appropriate patients for hair restoration surgery is based on a combination of: 1) procedural outcome assessment, 2) the age and baldness classification of the patient, and 3) the patient's goals. Additionally, one must consider the hair-to-skin color match, the hair shaft caliber and texture, the donor density, and the amount of hair curl.

The truth about hair loss

Baldness is often blamed on poor circulation to the scalp, vitamin deficiencies, dandruff, and even excessive hat wearing. All of these theories have been disproved. It's also not true that hair loss can be determined by looking at your maternal grandfather, or that 40-year-old men who haven't lost their hair will never lose it.

The best candidates for hair replacement

Hair replacement surgery can enhance your appearance and your self-confidence, but the results won't necessarily match your ideal. Before you decide to have surgery, think carefully about your expectations and discuss them with your surgeon.

It's important to understand that all hair replacement techniques use your existing hair. The goal of surgery is to find the most efficient uses for existing hair.

Hair replacement candidates must have healthy hair growth at the back and sides of the head to serve as donor areas. Donor areas are the places on the head from which grafts and flaps are taken. Other factors, such as hair color, texture and waviness or curliness may also affect the cosmetic result. There are a number of techniques used in hair replacement surgery. Sometimes, two or more techniques are used to achieve the best results.

Today’s transplant techniques primarily use follicular unit grafting to achieve natural-looking results. 1, 2, and 3 follicular unit grafts are used to rebuild the hairline and create hair density.

Complications

Despite meticulous technique, complications can develop in a small percentage of all surgical cases involving hair restoration. These include: unexpected drug reactions, hematoma formation, swelling, persistent pain, raised scars, wide scars, post transplant cysts, infection and temporary loss of hair, all are unforeseeable events that are beyond the surgeon's control. They do happen but are not common. Complications are usually so minor that they shouldn't scare anyone away from this type of surgery.