Getting surgery is a big deal. So if you’re one of those people wondering if you should get transplant surgery, this article should help. Read on to find out if hair transplant surgery is the right thing for you.
What is a Hair Transplant?
Most of you probably know what hair transplants are. But for those who don’t know, it’s basically removing skin from your scalp, cutting the follicles into separate pieces, and placing them where you want your hair to grow. There are actually two different methods for this procedure.
What are the Procedures?
- Follicular Unit Strip Surgery (FUSS)
When surgeons use FUSS, they remove a 6 – 10in strip of skin from the back of your head. They then sew your skin back together, allowing the existing hair to grow over it. After that, the removed skin will be cut into hundreds (or thousands) of pieces, or grafts. The number of grafts depends on a number of factors: the type of hair, the quality, the color, and the size of the area where you’re getting the transplant.
- Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)
For the FUE procedure, the surgeon (and/or his team) will shave the back of your head, and remove each hair follicle one by one until enough are taken out. The area will recover with small dots, which your existing hair should cover.
Where Ends Meet
After this point, both procedures are the same. After the grafts are prepared, the surgeon cleans and numbs the area where the hair will go, creates holes or slits with a scalpel or needle, and delicately places each graft in one of the holes.
And, depending on the size of the transplant you’re getting, the process will take about 4 to 8 hours. You might need another procedure later on if you continue to lose hair or decide you want thicker hair.
What to Expect During Recovery
After the surgery, your scalp may be very tender. You may need to take pain medications for several days. Your surgeon will have you wear bandages over your scalp for at least a day or two. He may also prescribe an antibiotic or an anti-inflammatory drug for you to take for several days. Most people are able to return to work 2 to 5 days after the operation. Within 2 to 3 weeks after surgery, the transplanted hair will fall out, but you should start to notice new growth within a few months. Most people will see 60% of new hair growth after 6 to 9 months. Some surgeons prescribe the hair-growing drug minoxidil (Rogaine) to improve hair growth after transplantation, but it’s not clear how well it works.
Costs of Treatment
The price of a hair transplant will depend largely on the amount of hair you’re moving, but it generally ranges from $4,000 to $15,000. Most insurance plans don’t cover it because it’s considered cosmetic. However, if you’re suffering from an illness that’s causing you to lose your hair, coverage may be possible.
What are the Risks?
As with any kind of surgery, transplants have some risks, including bleeding and infection. There’s also the chance for scarring and unnatural-looking new hair growth.
Around the time new locks start to grow, some people have inflammation or an infection of the hair follicles, called folliculitis. Antibiotics and compresses can relieve the problem. It’s also possible to suddenly lose some of the original hair in the area where you got the new strands, called shock loss. But most of the time, it’s not permanent.
Be sure to talk with your doctor about these risks and how much improvement you’re likely to get from the surgery. He can help you decide if it’s a good option for you.
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Sources: https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/hair-losshttps://www.forhims.com/blog
