Modern Hair Transplantation Techniques

By William H. Lindsey, MD, FACS

Ophthalmic Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon

. http://www.beauty4eye.com/

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Modern Hair Transplantation Techniques

Androgenic alopecia, or male pattern baldness, starts impacting genetically susceptible men in their 20s, with roughly 20% of men suffering significant hair loss at this young age. The incidence increases roughly 10% per decade such that 50% of men in their 50s have lost a large amount of their hair.

Women also can be plagued by this same problem, although they tend to have more diffuse hair loss with preservation of a frontal hairline.

The mechanism behind androgenic alopecia is that testosterone, a male hormone (that is also found at lower levels in normal females) gets converted to DHT by the body.

DHT circulates in the bloodstream and can bind to hair follicles in people whose genetics make them have DHT receptors on their hair follicles. In people who don't have these receptors, there is no significant hair loss.

Once DHT binds to hair follicles, it causes the follicles to get weaker and make thinner and thinner hair, and eventually the follicle dies.

Options for Treatment of Hair Loss

First, camouflage with a different hair style or a hairpiece. Second, Rogaine, or Propecia (for men only), can often slow hair loss and even re-grow lost hair. And third, hair transplantation can offer an excellent option to address either hairline recession or balding in the crown.

Hair transplants are done with hairs that do not have DHT receptors. Those hairs and their roots are surgically moved to balding areas.

Modern techniques for hair transplantation are vastly improved over the plugs of the 1980s and 1990s. At our office, we carefully remove a strip of hair-bearing scalp from the back of the head.

A team of trained technicians microscopically dissect each hair root out of the scalp. Then, the doctor creates recipient slits, made to the exact size of the root to be transplanted, making a nice snug fit for the newly placed hair follicle.

Careful planning and placement of individual hairs allows for creation of a very natural hairline. Dense packing allows enough hair to be placed in a particular area to give excellent coverage, and in the crown, we recreate the natural “swirl” that is seen in normal heads of hair.

Once placed, the hairs quickly take root, but then most go into a rest period for several months before starting to grow normally. The entire process is very similar to moving a plant from one part of the yard to another.

Careful planning, attention to detail, and artistic execution can result in the dramatic restoration of hair in balding individuals.