Hair Restoration Today

By Craig E. Vigliante, MD, DMD

VASA Cosmetic Surgery

. https://vasacosmeticsurgery.com/

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Hair Restoration Today

Understanding Your Options

Hair loss can affect both men and women and may occur because of genetics, aging, hormonal changes, medical conditions, medications, or other factors. For people with permanent pattern hair loss, a hair transplant may be one option for restoring hair in areas where thinning has occurred.

A hair transplant works by moving healthy hair follicles from a donor area—usually the back or sides of the scalp—to areas where hair has thinned or stopped growing. Because the transplanted follicles come from the patient’s own scalp, the new hair can grow naturally after the follicles become established.

Two commonly used approaches are follicular unit transplantation (FUT) and follicular unit extraction (FUE). With FUT, a narrow strip of scalp containing healthy follicles is removed from the donor area. The follicles are then separated and transplanted into thinning areas. This method can leave a linear scar in the donor region.

FUE takes a different approach. Individual follicular units are removed directly from the scalp rather than through removal of a strip of tissue. Because follicles are extracted individually, FUE generally produces many small donor sites instead of a single linear scar.

NeoGraft^® is a technology used to assist with the FUE process. The system helps harvest individual hair follicles using controlled suction. The collected grafts are then carefully placed into areas of hair loss. Placement is an important part of the procedure because the angle, direction, spacing, and distribution of transplanted follicles can influence how natural the final result appears.

Hair transplantation is generally performed using local anesthesia and may take several hours, depending on the number of grafts being transplanted. Patients typically return home the same day.

After the procedure, temporary redness, swelling, tenderness, itching, or small scabs may occur. Some of the transplanted hairs commonly shed during the first several weeks. This does not necessarily mean the transplant has failed; the follicles remain beneath the skin and may begin producing new hair during the following months. Visible growth often develops gradually, and the final appearance may take a year or longer to fully develop.

Not everyone experiencing hair loss is an appropriate candidate for transplantation. The cause and pattern of hair loss, availability of healthy donor hair, scalp health, medical history, age, and expectations all need to be considered.

Hair transplantation also does not stop future hair loss in untreated areas. A medical evaluation can help determine the cause of thinning, whether it is likely to progress, and which treatment options may be appropriate.