Hair transplantation surgery
Baldness, (also known as Androgenic Alopecia) is the most common form of hair loss. Although this problem is mostly suffered by men, it can also affect women. Baldness has a high impact in men, being greater for the white race than for the black race. It is considered that almost 30% white men have a sign of baldness by the age of 30 (from temporary “receding hairlines” to permanent baldness) which may be intensified in 50% by the age of 45 or 50 and reach 70% by the age of 70. .
The two determining factors behind baldness are genetic inheritance and certain male sex hormones called androgens (more specifically, the union of these hormones to some receptors in the scalp). When both factors take place in an individual, hair loss will occur.
Alopecia Androgenic can appear in different ways. There are three different patterns:
1. Male pattern Androgenic Alopecia.
2. Female pattern Alopecia.
3. Diffuse Alopecia.
1. The first pattern is the most common type of baldness in men, beginning with temporary bald patches (commonly known as “receding hair lines” or “Hair restoration Surgery”), continuing with tonsure and ending with the loss of hair all over the crown of the head.
2. In the case of female-pattern baldness, there is a diffuse thinning and loss of hair all over the head crown, but the frontal hairline is maintained.
There is a wide range of lotions and medicines aimed at preventing these alopecia factors from developing. However, no treatment can restore hair once it is lost, except for Surgery.
One of the main purposes of hair restoration surgery is to attain Natural results, that is to say, having no surgery stigmas. This “natural appearance” refers mainly to the so called frontal hair line. Having hair in a previously bold area is worthless if there are visible scars,incorrect hair implant designs which do not keep the regular aspect according to the age and sex, or various hairs emerging from a single slit like “doll hair”.
The hair microtransplant technique is the only way of achieving this natural appearance, which is, perhaps, one of the greatest attainments of the technique. Hair microtransplant allows that some grafts containing 1 to 2 hairs (called micrografts) be removed from the back of the head (from areas that are not genetically susceptible to ever going bald) and transplanted into bald area to be restored. In this way, micrografts transplanted into the recipient sites (bald area) follow the same pattern and GROW just like in the donor site (back of the head) and consequently, in the transplanted area the individual will have hair for the rest of his lifetime.
It is both necessary and important that the patient have an interview with the plastic surgeon that will perform the operation, who must be certified and experienced in the field. The patient must talk about his doubts and expectations as regards the results of the operation with the surgeon. The hair restoration surgery is one of the various types of cosmetic surgeries and the patient deserves that the surgeon have a full understanding of his problem.
There are two important technical factors in a hair restoration surgery: design and performance.First, prior to the surgery, the frontal hair line must be properly designed and located according to the age, sex, race, male pattern baldness and hair traits of the patient. The adequate performance implies the meticulous graft manipulation during the operation, activity which is unfailingly carried out with the aid of microscopes or magnifying lenses. Micrografts (grafts containing 1 to 2 hair follicles) must be the only type of grafts transplanted into a given area and must be placed based on how they naturally occur, rather than making them fit a pre-designed plan. |
