What is hair restoration surgery?

Hair restoration surgery is a treatment option for hair loss. During the surgery, the surgeon harvests tufts of hair grafts from the scalp area having thick hairs, such as the back or the sides, and implants them in the balding area or a scar to restore hair growth. Assessment and hair restoration surgery should only be the purview of a hair restoration specialist.

What type of hair loss requires hair restoration surgery?

Everyone who wishes or decides to undergo hair restoration surgery may have the same problem, which is hair loss. However, hair restoration surgery is not appropriate for all types of hair loss; some may not require surgery. Hair loss can be classified as follows:

• Scarring alopecia: This is the type of hair loss in which hair follicles are permanently destroyed and replaced with scar tissue. The scarring prevents new hair from growing, making the hair loss permanent.
• Nonscarring alopecia: Hair follicle loss is not permanent. An example is androgenetic alopecia.  
  Hair restoration surgery is appropriate for nonscarring hair loss, e.g., androgenetic alopecia. As for scarring hair loss, patients must have the cause of scarring alopecia treated and cured for at least six months before undergoing hair restoration surgery.

How to prepare for hair restoration surgery?

After a hair restoration specialist conducts a comprehensive assessment and determines that a patient is a suitable candidate for hair restoration surgery, the patient should adhere to the following instructions:

• Before undergoing hair transplant surgery, patients should check for any preexisting medical conditions that may require special care or that have not yet been treated, such as hepatitis B or C, HIV, or diabetes that requires insulin injections. This is because hair transplant surgery is a lengthy procedure that may interfere with a patient's insulin injection schedule, potentially leading to complications or health risks.
• Review current medications and supplements to identify any that may affect blood clotting, such as evening primrose or cod liver oils. You should discontinue these medications or supplements for at least one week before hair transplant surgery.
• Avoid smoking as it can reduce blood supply to hair grafts, adversely affecting healing.
• Patients with grey hair should dye their hair black before surgery to facilitate graft harvesting.

How many types of hair restoration surgery are there?

There are several types of hair restoration surgery. A hair restoration specialist will choose a type of surgery based on the assessment and the decision reached with the patients. In the steps of hair follicle harvesting, first determine if a patient should have the hair shaved, cut, or left as it is. Then perform hair restoration surgery using one of the techniques below:

• Follicular unit extraction (FUE) is a permanent hair restoration technique. It utilizes a micro-punch to harvest follicular units from the scalp dispersedly. Extracted hair follicles are stored and preserved in a graft-holding solution for transplantation. This technique is popular as it causes no wide or lengthy scars and does not thin the hairs of a donor's area. However, the downside of this technique is a limited number of follicular units.
• Follicular unit hair transplant (FUT) is another option for hair restoration surgery. FUT involves surgery to remove a certain length of the scalp, allowing for the harvesting of numerous follicular units, which is the advantage of this technique. With this advantage, FUT is ideal for hair restoration surgery that requires more than 3,000 hair grafts. The disadvantage of this technique is that it leaves linear scars on the back of the scalp.
  After harvesting follicular units with either technique mentioned above, the specialist will transplant those hair grafts preserved with the graft-holding solution. The hair restoration technique used in each case will depend on a mutual decision between the patient and the specialist.

Potential side effects of hair restoration surgery

Potential subsequent side effects of hair restoration surgery include:

• Neck pain and stiffness since hair restoration surgery is a lengthy procedure, and a patient has to lie face down through the surgery, which can cause aching.
• Dizziness.
• Redness and irritation of the scalp, as well as numbness, can ensue. These side effects may disappear on their own within six months after surgery.
• Shock hair loss may be frightening, and it is a common side effect that can occur two weeks after hair restoration surgery. 90% of the transplanted hair will fall. New hair will grow and thicken after three months.

Frequently asked questions about hair restoration surgery

• Does the hair in the donor area at the back of the head grow back?
  Hair will not regenerate in a donor area after hair restoration surgery as a hair graft is removed and preserved for transplantation. A specialist physician will carefully harvest follicles based on the hair characteristics of the patient without thinning the donor area or exposing scars.
• Will all of the transplanted hair grafts produce hair?
  About 95% of transplanted hair grafts usually produce hair. It takes at least a year for hair to thicken.
• My transplanted hair falls out. What should I do?
  Transplanted hair falling out is nothing to worry about. It can occur during the first two weeks. After a successful hair transplantation, almost all of the hair will fall. Your hair will regenerate after three months and fully grow about a year after surgery.

Services

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