When Are You Not Suitable for a Hair Transplant?

A brief description of hair restoration surgery

Hair restoration surgery (also known as a hair transplant) is a procedure whereby a surgeon extracts hair follicles from one area of the body to another. This is a constantly-evolving area of surgery and there are a number of methods for carrying out these minimally-invasive operations, the most common of which are FUE and FUT.
This type of surgery is most frequently carried out for the condition Male Pattern Hair Loss (inherited hair loss caused by genetics), where follicles - 'donor hair' - are transplanted from the back and/or sides of the scalp to thinning areas on the top. The donor hair is taken from these areas because DHT (the hormone produced by the body which attacks susceptible hair follicles in men with a genetic predisposition, causing them to shrink) does not affect hair in these areas.

When are you not suitable for hair restoration surgery?

Before hair transplant surgery is carried out you will need to visit a reputable doctor or surgeon for a consultation. They will make various considerations to determine whether you are suitable for the procedure.
A person with extensive hair loss is generally considered unsuitable for hair restoration surgery due to a lack of good quality donor follicles to cover the balding area.
Many people do not realise that hair will no longer grow from the area which the follicle was removed so there is only so much hair that can be removed before the donor area begins to appear visibly thinner.
A person with thinning hair that is still reasonably dense may not not be suitable for a hair transplant if there is not enough space to insert the new grafts. There is a risk that the transplanted hair will push out the neighbouring hair, hence cancelling your gains. In addition, the situation of having a thick hair and a thin hair adjacent to each other is cosmetically very odd, producing unnatural-looking results.
A person with a Diffuse Hair Loss condition will not be suitable.
Hair transplantation should not be performed on a person with Alopecia Areata because this type of hair loss can affect any area of the scalp, therefore even the transplanted hair is subject to attack making the whole procedure pointless. This principle also applies to Pseudopelade and Lichen Planus.

Following surgery are your hair loss worries a thing of the past?

Male Pattern Baldness is a progressive, on-going condition. A good surgeon considers the future for potential hair transplant patients - will there be donor hair available in the future should the balding areas thin further?
One important factor following hair restoration surgery is that there are almost always areas around the top of the scalp that still susceptible to hair loss due to follicular miniaturisation.
It is, therefore, advised that these areas are maintained by using appropriate, preventative hair loss treatments in order to avoid uneven areas of hair thinning hair baldness months or years down the line.
It is often recommended by surgeons that men follow one of these pharmaceutical treatment courses for a minimum of six months prior to surgery in order to stabilise shedding, making the hair easier to perform surgery on, as well as allowing for optimum regrowth results, potentially minimising the number of grafts needed.
To enquire about Belgravia's hair replacement and hair restoration services please message the centre or call us on 020 7730 6666. You can also complete our online diagnostic form for our home-use service.