Ninety-eight percent of men and women who suffer from hair loss can attribute it to androgenetic alopecia, a genetic form of hair loss, affecting the individual hair follicles, according to the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). Hair follicles not affected by androgenetic alopecia are transplanted to balding areas of the scalp and the transplanted hair follicles continue to grow normally for the life of the recipient. This surgical process involves several stages that are explained by the surgeon prior to surgery.
Graft Harvesting
Harvesting grafts from a donor involves the surgeon cutting parallel strips of hair follicles, which are later adjusted to an appropriate size and placed in saline and refrigerated, according to UTMB. Surgeons may instead ellipse an entire segment of the scalp and then cut down the grafts under microscopic vision. The grafts are either cut into micro-grafts that consist of two to three follicles, single-follicle grafts, or follicular units with several clusters of hairs, as stated by the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS). Hair grafts can also be taken directly from the patient's own scalp in which graft strips are cut from the back of the scalp.
Recipient Site Preparation
Slits are cut into the recipient's scalp or holes are punched with a skin hole punch or needle to prepare for the transplantation of the donor hair grafts. UTMB states that the slit method allows for less scarring but can result in a pudgy or unnatural look due to the grafts compressing. The hole punch method allows the skin and graft to heal without distortion, creating a natural look.
Graft Placement
Grafts are placed into the small incisions or holes on the recipient's scalp with hundreds of thousands of follicles inserted in one session, according to ISHRS. During the procedure the patient is given local anesthesia to control any discomfort. The graft placement surgery is performed in several sessions two to three months apart from each other to allow complete healing of the scalp between treatments.
After Treatment
The patient is given medication to control pain and swelling after the hair transplant procedure is complete. Scabs or crusting of transplant sites on scalp may last for approximately a week to 10 days and follow-up visits with the physician are done at four to six month intervals to monitor hair growth results, according to Penn Medicine. The hairs that are attached to the transplanted root may fall out or shed, leaving the root intact. The hair transplant takes about two to three months to grow back after shedding.
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