What are the stages of hair transplant? | Methods, Benefits, Side effects and Care

If you have decided to transplant hair, you must have asked how and where to start. What steps are ahead of you and what factors will affect your choices and decisions. In fact, the process of hair transplantation has started exactly from the time you have decided.

This article is a step-by-step guide for you from beginning to the end of hair transplant process. It doesn't matter if you know about hair transplant or not.

The first step in hair transplant is to study and acquire basic knowledge in this field. In our opinion, the more you know about hair transplant, the better and easier decisions you will make for yourself. But what do you need to know? We will say further.

What are stages of hair transplant?

First of all, you need to know what hair transplant is. Hair transplantation or hair transplantation is a treatment method in which hair that is resistant to falling out is transferred to areas of baldness and loss in body or head. This method is called natural hair transplant.

Perhaps in last decade there were only one or two surgical techniques for natural hair transplantation; But today, natural hair transplant methods have advanced and diversified. In general, hair transplant methods can be placed in two general categories, which differ in stages of hair transplant.

(1) Strip hair planting

In strip implantation, an incision is made in skin of back of head (donor area) to extract follicles or grafts. Then follicles are extracted from skin under a microscope and prepared for implantation. Strip implantation methods are more invasive; Because the cut needs sutures. More complications and long recovery are other disadvantages of these methods. On the other hand, the quality of harvested grafts in these methods is higher than others, which is a very important advantage.

Strip implantation methods include following techniques:

• FUT method
• Combined method
• Super hybrid method

(2) Planting by extracting follicular units

The methods of this category do not need to make an incision and follicles are extracted in a single form by creating small holes with a diameter of less than one millimeter. These methods are so minimally invasive that they are known as non-surgical hair transplantation.

The latest methods of hair transplantation by extracting follicular units include following techniques:

• FIT method
• SUT method
• Micro FIT method
• BHT method
• Hair transplant by micrograft method

In general, the head of first group is FUT method and second group is FIT method, most of advantages, disadvantages and stages of hair transplantation in methods belonging to each group are very close to each other.

Note: There is another method for hair restoration that uses synthetic fibers similar to hair strands, which is known as HRT method.

Which of mentioned methods is more suitable for you depends on your hair loss situation. Each of these methods has advantages and disadvantages, and in consultation session, the surgeon will choose the best method for you by examining your hair and consulting with you.

Are you a good candidate for hair transplant?

In the first step of hair transplant process, you should know whether you are a suitable candidate for hair transplant or not. Most types of baldness and hair loss can be compensated by hair transplantation, if you suffer from patchy baldness with an undefined pattern, alopecia areata or hair loss due to untreated underlying diseases, you are not a good candidate for hair transplantation. If your hair loss is caused by androgenic alopecia, burns, injury, treated disease, etc., you can do hair transplant. We have explained about suitable candidate for hair transplant in articles related to hair transplant methods.

The best thing to do before proceeding with hair transplant is to visit a dermatologist and find out cause of hair loss. If cause of hair loss is among things that can be treated with hair transplant, other factors should be investigated. The strength of donor area, type of hair, general health status, age, etc. are among these factors that are examined by hair transplant specialist in consultation sessions.

Choosing a reputable clinic

Now that you know what hair transplant is and how it is done, we should go to other factors influencing your decision as a hair transplant applicant. The first and perhaps the most important factor is choosing a suitable hair transplant clinic. The clinic you are looking for should have enough credit and experience for hair transplantation.

Characteristics of a good clinic:

• Officially licensed by the Ministry of Health
• Using experienced skin and hair specialists and skilled hair transplant surgeons
• Use of experienced and skilled team therapy
• Equipped with most modern tools and equipment for hair transplantation
• Compassionate staff, suitable environment and comfort facilities for clients

Face-to-face consultation

One of most important stages of hair transplantation is face-to-face consultation, in this session, a specialist doctor or hair transplant expert will first provide you with preliminary explanations of hair transplantation. Then we ask you to tell us your medical history information. Things like chronic diseases, medications you take, hair transplant history, etc. These cases are important in identifying suitable and unsuitable hair transplant candidates.

After completing preliminary steps, you will visit a hair transplant specialist. The doctor will first check your medical records, diseases and medications, as well as check condition of your hair. Then he will talk with you about suitable solutions for your conditions, hair transplant methods and its steps. Finally, it determines the number of grafts needed and number of hair transplant sessions to achieve your desired results and informs you of hair transplant cost. If you are satisfied with results of face-to-face consultation, a time for hair transplantation will be set for you.

Care before hair transplantation

In stages of hair transplantation, pre-operative care is very important; Because following the recommendations that you read below have a great impact on success of your hair transplant.

These dos and don'ts can vary depending on your circumstances and will be discussed in detail in the consultation session.

• Avoid smoking and alcohol. You should not smoke at least one month before hair transplant. Nicotine in tobacco can increase bleeding or decrease blood supply to grafts. Consumption of alcohol is prohibited until one week before operation. Alcohol reduces body's ability to stop bleeding and also reduces effect of anesthesia.
• Stop taking thinners and anticoagulants. Until 10 days before hair transplant, you should not take medicines such as aspirin or warfarin that prevent blood clotting. If you are using these drugs due to a certain disease, you should consult your doctor to stop using them.
• You must take a blood test. To check your general health, we will ask you to take a blood test. For this test, you must be fasting, and things like blood sugar, blood cell count, blood clotting speed, and viral diseases (such as hepatitis and AIDS) are checked.
• Take prescribed antibiotic. To prevent infections, you will be prescribed an antibiotic medicine that you must take the day before or on day of visiting clinic for hair transplantation.
• Wash your head. On the day of visiting clinic for hair transplant, you must wash your head. Also, avoid using cosmetics or hair products.
• Wear comfortable clothes. On the day of visiting the clinic, wear loose and comfortable clothes so that you can easily get dressed and undressed.

hair transplant

At this stage of hair transplant process, you will be present at clinic and after additional explanations and preliminary preparations, you will be transferred to operating room. All hair transplant procedures are performed in operating room using local anesthesia; So you will not feel any pain. The hair transplant session lasts for several hours; That is why you are given breaks.

After hair transplant

Night and next morning

How you will feel at night and in morning after hair transplant depends to some extent on method of hair transplant. 6 hours after hair transplant, the effect of anesthetic will wear off and you may have some pain. Of course, this pain is more observed in FUT method and is well managed with oral painkillers.

In FUT method, a bandage is placed on your head after operation, but other methods usually do not require a bandage. The day after operation, it is better to visit clinic for the first head wash. Of course, you can do this yourself. For faster recovery and to prevent complications such as infection, you should wash your head several times a day according to doctor's recommendations.

The prospect of hair transplantation

Normally, two weeks after hair transplantation, all implanted grafts fall out. This part of hair transplant process can be worrying for clients; But you should know that this event is part of the natural cycle of hair growth. When follicles are replaced, the old hair falls out to make room for new hair growth. After shedding, follicles enter resting phase and it takes 5 months before you see hair buds. The results of hair transplant are visible up to first year and are completed about 18 months after surgery.

source : whcl.ir