Hair transplant :

( other terms: hair transplant, hair graft) techniques consist of removing hair follicles from one part of the body, called the ‘donor site’,that is generally is genetically resistant to hair loss to a bald part of the body known as the ‘recipient site’.
These techniques are minimally invasive procedures and mainly used to treat male baldness. Hair transplantation can also be used to restore or add hair to any other part of the body such us: eyelashes, eyebrows, beard hair, chest hair, pubic hair and to fill in scars
Since hair naturally grows in groupings of 1 to 4 hairs, current techniques harvest and transplant hair “follicular units” in their natural groupings. Thus modern hair transplantation can achieve a natural appearance by mimicking original hair orientation. This hair transplant procedure is called follicular unit transplantation (FUT). Donor hair can be harvested in two different ways: strip harvesting, and follicular unit extraction (FUE).

Different acronms ares used for almost the same techniques which are classifed in 2 separate groups according the type of extraction of the hasir follicles:

Procedure

Pre-operative assessment and planning

At an initial consultation, the surgeon analyzes the patient’s scalp, discusses their preferences and expectations, and advises them on the best approach (e.g. single vs. multiple sessions) and what results might reasonably be expected. Pre-operative folliscopy will help to know the actual existing density of hair, so that postoperative results of newly transplanted hair grafts can be accurately assessed. Some patients may benefit with preoperative topical minoxidil application and vitamins.[1]
For several days prior to surgery the patient refrains from using any medicines which might result in intraoperative bleeding and resultant poor grafting. Alcohol and smoking can contribute to poor graft survival. Post operative antibiotics are commonly prescribed to prevent wound or graft infections.

Harvesting methods

Transplant operations are performed on an outpatient basis, with mild sedation (optional) and injected local anesthesia. The scalp is shampooed and then treated with an antibacterial agent prior to the donor scalp being harvested.

Strip harvesting

A strip of is about 1–1.5 x 15–30 cm of scalp is excised under local anesthesia . then hair follicles are cut separately and prepared for implantation

Strip harvesting will leave a thin linear scar in the donor area, which is typically covered by a patient’s hair even at relatively short lengths.

Follicular unit extraction (FUE)

Follicular Unit Extraction or FUE uses tiny punches of between 0.6mm and 1.2mm in diameter to extract hair units one by one. Robotic extraction is about the same except it uses a robot to chose follicles and o extract. This technique is more tedious and takes longer time, but it has the advatanage that it doesn’t leave a visible scar even at shaved hair.

The implantation techniques :
– Forceps implantation one by one
– implantation by an implanter eg: choi implanter
The surgeon then uses very small blades or fine needles to puncture the small slits to receive grafts, according to a precise orientation and density.

The procedue can take anywhere from a couple hours to extract 200 grafts for a scar correction to a surgery over two consecutive days for a megasession of 2,500 to 3,000 grafts.
FUE can give very natural results. The advantage over strip harvesting is that FUE harvesting negates the need for large areas of scalp tissue to be harvested, so there is no linear incision on the back of the head and it doesn’t leave a linear scar. Because individual follicles are removed, only small, punctate scars remain which are virtually not visible and any post-surgical pain and discomfort is minimized. As no suture removal is required, recovery from Micro Grafting FUE is less than 7 days.
Disadvantages include increased surgical times

Types of surgery

There are a number of applications for hair transplant surgery, including:
• Androgenetic alopecia
• Eyebrow transplant
• Frontal hair line lowering or reconstruction (naturally high hairlines without an existing hair loss condition)

Side effects

Hair thinning, known as “shock loss”, is a common side effect that is usually temporary. Bald patches are also common, as fifty to a hundred hairs can be lost each day. Post-operative hiccups have also been seen in around 5% of transplant patients.[citation needed]