Hair Transplant Surgery

Depending on what is done, this procedure may be called hair grafts, hair strip grafts, hair-bearing flaps, or scalp reduction. A transplant means that the hair is moved from one place to another. A flap is a piece of scalp with hair that is cut, but left attached to the scalp on one side. The flap is swiveled into a new position where the bald skin has been cut out and discarded. The flap keeps its own blood supply. Scalp reduction means that the scalp is made smaller by cutting out bald skin on top of the scalp and discarding it.

We use the micrograft and minigraft megasession for the treatment of male pattern baldness. Micrograft means grafts with 1 or 2 hairs, minigrafts are those with 3 or 4 hairs, and a megasession is a procedure in which more than 1000 micrografts and minigrafts are inserted in a single session. Natural and aesthetically pleasing results without visible scarring are usually achieved with this technique in one session. Even though the hair density achieved in a single megasession is limited, there is a high level of patient satisfaction. The procedure may be repeated for additional density.

The goal is to decrease the bald areas on your scalp and to conceal the remaining baldness so that your hair appears as normal as possible. The surgery will not stop you from going bald nor prevent you from going bald. It can only redistribute your hair during and/or after the time that you lose it. You can have hair transplant surgery at any age. Hair transplant surgery is common in men from their twenties to their sixties.

An infection or disorder of your scalp skin must be treated before hair grafting or it will interfere with the healing of your grafts. Such disorders include psoriasis, eczema, seborrhea (dandruff), and acne in and around the scalp. An underlying illness, such as diabetes or lowered immune resistance, increases your risk of infection, poor healing, and poor growth of the grafted hair.

Grafts are done with local anesthesia, usually with sedation. Flaps and scalp reductions are done either with local sedation or with general anesthesia. Duration will vary with what is done. A session of hair grafts may be done in two to three hours. A complicated scalp flap may take several hours or more. A scalp reduction, in which bald skin is cut out and discarded, will take between one and two hours to complete.

During the process of recovery, your scalp will ache and throb where the surgery was done. You may need narcotic pain killers by prescription or only over-the-counter acetaminophen (Tylenol).

Your scalp will be sore for a least a day. For some people, the discomfort lasts several days. You can carefully rinse but not vigorously wash your hair for the first ten days. If you are not careful, the grafts may become dislodged, bleed, and fail to grow new hair. You may brush or comb your hair where your surgery wasn't done. Also you can use a gentle blow dryer on a cool setting to dry your hair.

There will be scars at the donor site (where the hairy scalp is taken from) and there will be scars at the recipient site (where the hairy scalp is put in). All the donor site scars will be hidden by your remaining hair. However, the scars may be up to a half-inch thick and pink. The scalp reduction may leave a broad pink scar across the top of the scalp. This is visible if you bend over. However, a scalp reduction is usually only a first step in treating baldness and other steps will place grafts to cover the scar.

Your results will depend to some extent on your own hair texture and thickness. If your hair is fine and thin, hair grafting may be disappointing because your hair grafts will contain only a few hairs. Hair graft procedures are not usually done all at once but in stages over a year and a half or longer. It will take about three months for your new hair to grow in, each time. You will have to wait at least three to four months between further grafting to an area of scalp. You could go back to work after about two days. After two weeks, you may be able to swim, without a swim cap, or jog. Contact sports should be avoided for two to three weeks.

With a hair graft, your risks are few. If your goal is the minimum risk, even at the cost of less improvement than you hope, then you will do best with the less risky hair graft technique. However, if you want maximum improvement, you might do best to accept the somewhat increased cost and risks of scalp reduction and flaps.

Until we have a drug that brings hair follicles back to life, hair transplant surgery is the only treatment available to correct hair loss. These hair operations are the most common cosmetic procedures in men. Cosmetic nose surgery is next.

Before	After

Before	After

Dr. Rodrigo Araya
Cima San Jose Hospital
Tower # 2, Floor # 2, office # 211
Escazú, San José, Costa Rica
Tel: (506) 208-8211
Fax: (506) 208-8261
Web Site: http://www.a-plastic-surgeon.com
E-mail: arayamd@a-plastic-surgeon.com