
5 key things to know about hair transplants
A hair transplant is a procedure in which healthy hair follicles are put onto a balding region. Often, follicles on the areas of the body with thicker hair (donor sites) are added to spots (recipient sites) on the scalp lacking hair. Undergoing the procedure is an important decision involving several discussions with an experienced health professional. Further, one should know about the following key things about hair transplants to make an informed decision:
1. Types and procedure
Learning about the step-by-step process can help one feel better prepared for the transplant. Here are the two types of transplantation methods and the steps involved under each:
Follicular unit transplantation or FUT
Here, a surgeon uses a portion (strip) of the scalp. Here are the key steps:
– Using a scalpel, the surgeon extracts the portion. One can be asleep throughout the procedure or have the scalp numbed. The portion of the scalp is usually taken from the back of the head and is about 6 to 10 inches long.
– After removing the portion, the area of the scalp is closed using stitches.
– After this, the scalp piece is divided into smaller pieces called grafts, each often containing a single strand of hair. Thus, as many as 2,000 grafts can be made from this small skin patch.
– Then, the surgeon can make small openings in the scalp to plant the hair extracted from the donor site. This step of making openings and inserting the hairs is called grafting.
– After the recipient site has all the grafts in place, the surgeon covers the region with bandages or gauze.
Follicular unit extraction or FUE
With this procedure, too, one can choose to be sedated. Here are the key steps:
– The back of the head is shaved.
– The surgeon extracts individual follicles out of the shaved portion of the scalp.