Modern hair restoration surgery

Male or Female Pattern (Genetic) Hair Loss only affects the top and front of a person’s scalp.  This is because it’s only the follicles in this area that contain receptors sensitive to the hormone that causes hair loss.

If hair is taken from the back or even from the side of the scalp (areas where the hairs are not sensitive to genetic hair loss), and transplanted to the top or front, the hair usually continues to grow and produces hair for life.

Hair transplant techniques have come a long way in the past two decades. The old punch graft technique became obsolete and is replaced by ‘mini’ and ‘micro’ graft transplantation. While the old punch graft technique often created an unnatural, ‘doll hair’ look, modern hair transplant techniques can create a perfectly natural appearance. Today’s ‘mini’ and ‘micro’ graft technique allows single hairs or a natural group of 2 or 3 hairs to be re-planted in the direction of the individual’s natural growth pattern.

Hair restoration surgery is a one day procedure and is done under local anaesthesia. A hair transplant procedure requires an experienced and skilled hair transplant surgeon and a very well trained and skilled team of nurses and technicians.

On the first visit, the physician will initially determine whether the patient has a good donor hair supply on the back of the scalp and if the surgery can fulfil the patient’s expectations. After that the patient will be informed about the procedure and all possible risks and side effects. Then both physician and patient will carefully plan where the hairs will be placed. Around 2000 –3000 ‘mini’ and ‘micro’ grafts can be transplanted in one session if the patient has a sufficient donor supply.

On the day of the surgery, the donor hair area in the back will be trimmed short. The graft donor and recipient sides will than be anaesthetised with tumescent anaesthesia, a mixture of local anaesthetic and saline water. Once the skin is numb, a strip of skin, usually 0.5 – 1.5 cm wide and 10 up to 20 cm long, will be removed from the back of the scalp. The area will than be stitched. The stitches will be removed after one week. After the healing process the patient will have a thin scar across the back of the scalp. A hair length of at least 1.5 cm is recommended to cover the scar.

Some centres offer a new harvesting technique called ‘follicular unit extraction’. Single natural groups of 2-3 hairs or even single hairs are extracted randomly from the donor hair area with a very small punch-like circular scalpel. Follicular unit extraction leaves small holes 1 to 2 millimetres in diameter at the site of extraction. These holes are not stitched but are rather left to heal on their own. After the healing process, the small dot-like scars are usually hardly visible. The choice of harvesting techniques should be made after discussion between patient and physician.

Immediately after the skin is removed from the donor area, the ‘mini’ and ‘micro’ grafts are prepared by the hair transplant technicians. The grafts are then transplanted into the recipient area by inserting them into small slits incised into the skin and underlying tissue with a small blade or needle.

The patient should take a week off of work because around 2-3 days after the procedure, there might be significant swelling especially around the eyes. The patient will be asked to shampoo twice daily for 1-2 week to get ride of the little scabs around the ‘mini’ and ‘micro’ grafts. Usually patients look perfectly normal 1 week after the surgery and nobody can tell that the patient has had any procedure carried out.

It will take 6 months to 1 year for the transplanted hair to grow. The transplanted hair has a different genetic program and is determined to stay with the patient lifelong. However, the pre-existing hair in the frontal and crown area can still continue to thin out, therefore it is highly recommended to use medicated treatments in order to stop the process of pattern hair loss and to maximize the results after hair restoration surgery.

There are many hair transplant specialists to choose from, but because hair transplanting requires a great deal of creative skill as well as surgical knowledge it is important to make the right choice. The Belgravia Centre does not carry out hair transplant procedures, but we have carried out a great deal of research into which specialist we consider the best for a particular patient.

If you would like some impartial advice as to suitability and where best to go, just call the centre to book a consultation with a Belgravia trichologist and treatment advisor. This normally takes about 30 to 45 minutes and costs £65. The cost is normally recoverable from the transplant specialist should you decide to have surgery.

Not ready for hair replacement? Find out about Belgravia’s hair loss treatments.