Considering a Hair Transplant
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Considering a Hair Transplant? Insider Tips Here
Everyone has heard of or even seen hair transplant horror stories, maybe in a magazine, online or
even worse seen the obvious 'plugs' in a elderly friend or relative. However hair transplant
surgery has jumped leaps and bound in recent years to make it a viable, safe and not too risky
option for those suffering with male pattern baldness although such is the stigma attached that
none of them have admitted to it publicly, it only becomes obvious when studying before and
after pictures.
History of Hair Transplant
The origins of hair transplant surgery stem from Japanese dermatologist, Dr. Okuda, who in 1939
published a revolutionary method in a Japanese medical journal of using small grafts that were
similar to the way hair transplantation is performed today. This method involved using hair
transplant grafts to correct lost hair from various body areas, including the scalp, eyebrow, and
moustache areas.
In the late 50's one physician in particular, Dr. Norman Orentreich, began to experiment with the
idea of relocating or transplanting the hair on the back and sides of the head to the balding areas.
Dr. Orentreich's experiments showed that when bald resistant hairs from the back and sides of
the head were relocated, they maintained their bald resistant genetic characteristic regardless of
where they were transplanted.
This principle, known as “Donor Dominance”, established that hair could be transplanted from
the bald resistant donor areas to the balding areas and continues to grow for a life time. This laid
the foundation for modern hair transplantation. During the 60's and 70's hair transplants grew in
popularity. However, the standard of care involved the use of larger grafts that were removed by
round punches and often contained many hairs.
In the 80's hair restoration surgery evolved dramatically, as the large punch grafts were gradually
replaced with a more refined combination of mini and micrografts. This "combination mini
micrografting" hair transplantation procedure no longer used the punch to extract the bald
resistant grafts. Rather a strip of bald resistant hair was surgically removed from the back of the
head and then trimmed into mini and micrografts.
Types of Hair Transplant
There are two main methods of Follicular unit hair transplant surgery. Follicular unit Transplant
commonly known as FUT or 'strip surgery' and Follicular unit extraction, commonly known as
FUE the main difference is the method of extracting the transplanted hair. FUT and FUE are
really complimentary forms of HT, not competing methods of which one must make a choice.
FUT versus FUE
The 90's saw the gradual introduction of a very refined surgical procedure now known as
"follicular unit hair transplantation" or "FUT". This exacting and labour intensive procedure
transplants hairs in their naturally occurring one, two, three, and four hair "follicular unit
groupings" in which they grow naturally.
The concept of creating the entire hair restoration using exclusively follicular units was proposed
by Dr. Robert Bernstein and was described in the 1995 Bernstein and Rassman publication
"Follicular Transplantation". Critical to the success of the follicular unit hair transplant procedure
was the introduction of the binocular microscope by Dr. Bobby Limmer of San Antonio Texas in
the late 1980's.
Dr. Limmer found that by using the microscope to examine the donor tissue he and his staff were
able to successfully isolate and trim the naturally occurring follicular units into individual grafts.
Dr. Limmer shared his techniques and findings with his colleagues and together with Drs.
Bernstein, Rassman and Seager, was a persuasive advocate for the follicular unit hair.
The process involving follicular hair transplants is considered to be the most effective among
hair restoration methods. In follicular hair transplant, the surgeon transplants hair from the
permanent zone in the back of the scalp onto the affected areas.
If you need a large area covered, then you most likely want to go for FUT because it is the more
economical in terms of number of grafts for price paid. If you absolutely, positively don't want
strip surgery as you are worried about scarring, then FUE is you’re only alternative. Contrary to
popular belief, both methods leave scars. FUT will leave a narrow line across the back of your
head, whereas FUE will leave little unpigmented dots across the back of your head. The only
difference is that the FUE scars are not concentrated together and therefore harder to detect when
wearing hair very short.
There is no doubt that FUE procedures are harsher on the grafts than FUT procedures. Because
of this the final growth yields tend to be lower for FUE compared to FUT. But BOTH procedures
work for the most part.
Hair Transplant Cost
FUT surgeries are performed by reputable surgeons around the world however FUE is mostly
available through a number of specialists, the vast majority of reputable ones that I know of are
in the United States and Canada. Pricing for FUE from these reputable surgeons is currently
close to $7- $11 US dollars per graft for FUE, and depending on what level on the Norwood
Scale, a scale used to measure the progression of male pattern baldness, can be quite costly.
Pricing for FUT from these same surgeons is normally in the range of $4-6 per graft, however in
Asia and Eastern Europe prices can be even lower.
Do cheaper means better?
Many of my clients do sometimes look to cut costs by using other surgeons especially in
countries such as India, Pakistan, Thailand and Eastern Europe. Although I'm sure there have
been success stories via this route please remember in these countries there is little guarantee or
action available to you if something does go wrong. I have seen hair transplant using the FUT
method, although not a horror story in terms of scarring or suffering, it did not yield the expected
results of a more established surgeon placing the same number of grafts. He is therefore left with
poor hair coverage but now has lost the option to 'shave it all off' due to huge smiley faced scar
in the back of his head!
Check, Check and Check
I recommend considering hair transplant surgery only after you have tried the non-surgical
treatments on the market. Then when you certain you wish to get a hair transplant I would advice
thoroughly researching reputable doctors, of course price is always issue, but in the case of hair
transplants it should not be the most important factor. Indeed the money saved is nothing
compared to trauma of having to live with a badly scarred scalp for the rest of your life. If you
decide to go for more budget surgeon, please do insist on seeing photos of the surgeons previous
work and do not be afraid to ask for contact details of their previous patients.
Dr. Rahul Goyal
Phone: 9815827418, 9815727418
Email: [email protected]
Address: IVY Hospital, Mohali Punjab
Website: http://chandigarhhairtransplantation.com/
Everyone has heard of or even seen hair transplant horror stories, maybe in a magazine, online or
even worse seen the obvious 'plugs' in a elderly friend or relative. However hair transplant
surgery has jumped leaps and bound in recent years to make it a viable, safe and not too risky
option for those suffering with male pattern baldness although such is the stigma attached that
none of them have admitted to it publicly, it only becomes obvious when studying before and
after pictures.
History of Hair Transplant
The origins of hair transplant surgery stem from Japanese dermatologist, Dr. Okuda, who in 1939
published a revolutionary method in a Japanese medical journal of using small grafts that were
similar to the way hair transplantation is performed today. This method involved using hair
transplant grafts to correct lost hair from various body areas, including the scalp, eyebrow, and
moustache areas.
In the late 50's one physician in particular, Dr. Norman Orentreich, began to experiment with the
idea of relocating or transplanting the hair on the back and sides of the head to the balding areas.
Dr. Orentreich's experiments showed that when bald resistant hairs from the back and sides of
the head were relocated, they maintained their bald resistant genetic characteristic regardless of
where they were transplanted.
This principle, known as “Donor Dominance”, established that hair could be transplanted from
the bald resistant donor areas to the balding areas and continues to grow for a life time. This laid
the foundation for modern hair transplantation. During the 60's and 70's hair transplants grew in
popularity. However, the standard of care involved the use of larger grafts that were removed by
round punches and often contained many hairs.
In the 80's hair restoration surgery evolved dramatically, as the large punch grafts were gradually
replaced with a more refined combination of mini and micrografts. This "combination mini
micrografting" hair transplantation procedure no longer used the punch to extract the bald
resistant grafts. Rather a strip of bald resistant hair was surgically removed from the back of the
head and then trimmed into mini and micrografts.
Types of Hair Transplant
There are two main methods of Follicular unit hair transplant surgery. Follicular unit Transplant
commonly known as FUT or 'strip surgery' and Follicular unit extraction, commonly known as
FUE the main difference is the method of extracting the transplanted hair. FUT and FUE are
really complimentary forms of HT, not competing methods of which one must make a choice.
FUT versus FUE
The 90's saw the gradual introduction of a very refined surgical procedure now known as
"follicular unit hair transplantation" or "FUT". This exacting and labour intensive procedure
transplants hairs in their naturally occurring one, two, three, and four hair "follicular unit
groupings" in which they grow naturally.
The concept of creating the entire hair restoration using exclusively follicular units was proposed
by Dr. Robert Bernstein and was described in the 1995 Bernstein and Rassman publication
"Follicular Transplantation". Critical to the success of the follicular unit hair transplant procedure
was the introduction of the binocular microscope by Dr. Bobby Limmer of San Antonio Texas in
the late 1980's.
Dr. Limmer found that by using the microscope to examine the donor tissue he and his staff were
able to successfully isolate and trim the naturally occurring follicular units into individual grafts.
Dr. Limmer shared his techniques and findings with his colleagues and together with Drs.
Bernstein, Rassman and Seager, was a persuasive advocate for the follicular unit hair.
The process involving follicular hair transplants is considered to be the most effective among
hair restoration methods. In follicular hair transplant, the surgeon transplants hair from the
permanent zone in the back of the scalp onto the affected areas.
If you need a large area covered, then you most likely want to go for FUT because it is the more
economical in terms of number of grafts for price paid. If you absolutely, positively don't want
strip surgery as you are worried about scarring, then FUE is you’re only alternative. Contrary to
popular belief, both methods leave scars. FUT will leave a narrow line across the back of your
head, whereas FUE will leave little unpigmented dots across the back of your head. The only
difference is that the FUE scars are not concentrated together and therefore harder to detect when
wearing hair very short.
There is no doubt that FUE procedures are harsher on the grafts than FUT procedures. Because
of this the final growth yields tend to be lower for FUE compared to FUT. But BOTH procedures
work for the most part.
Hair Transplant Cost
FUT surgeries are performed by reputable surgeons around the world however FUE is mostly
available through a number of specialists, the vast majority of reputable ones that I know of are
in the United States and Canada. Pricing for FUE from these reputable surgeons is currently
close to $7- $11 US dollars per graft for FUE, and depending on what level on the Norwood
Scale, a scale used to measure the progression of male pattern baldness, can be quite costly.
Pricing for FUT from these same surgeons is normally in the range of $4-6 per graft, however in
Asia and Eastern Europe prices can be even lower.
Do cheaper means better?
Many of my clients do sometimes look to cut costs by using other surgeons especially in
countries such as India, Pakistan, Thailand and Eastern Europe. Although I'm sure there have
been success stories via this route please remember in these countries there is little guarantee or
action available to you if something does go wrong. I have seen hair transplant using the FUT
method, although not a horror story in terms of scarring or suffering, it did not yield the expected
results of a more established surgeon placing the same number of grafts. He is therefore left with
poor hair coverage but now has lost the option to 'shave it all off' due to huge smiley faced scar
in the back of his head!
Check, Check and Check
I recommend considering hair transplant surgery only after you have tried the non-surgical
treatments on the market. Then when you certain you wish to get a hair transplant I would advice
thoroughly researching reputable doctors, of course price is always issue, but in the case of hair
transplants it should not be the most important factor. Indeed the money saved is nothing
compared to trauma of having to live with a badly scarred scalp for the rest of your life. If you
decide to go for more budget surgeon, please do insist on seeing photos of the surgeons previous
work and do not be afraid to ask for contact details of their previous patients.
Dr. Rahul Goyal
Phone: 9815827418, 9815727418
Email: [email protected]
Address: IVY Hospital, Mohali Punjab
Website: http://chandigarhhairtransplantation.com/
