Hair Transplantation

Hair transplantation is a surgical modality for treatment of baldness where the bald area is covered with hair, along with its roots, taken from other sites such as back of scalp.
Once transplanted, the hair will continue to grow for a person’s lifetime. At The Kosme Care Clinic we perform the two most effective types of hair restoration procedures, Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE).

1.Am I a Candidate for a Hair Restoration Procedure?

The answer will depend on the cause of your hair loss, your age, the stability of your donor supply, how extensive your hair loss is, your expectations and a number of other important factors that will be taken into account.
Criteria to have surgical hair restoration:

• A diagnosis of androgenetic alopecia (common genetic hair loss) or another condition that is amenable to hair transplantation.
• First explored medical therapy and, if appropriate, given adequate time to see a full response (generally one year).
• Sufficient hair loss that it affects their aesthetic appearance.
• Adequate donor hair to satisfy current and future needs.
• Realistic expectations on what surgical hair restoration can accomplish.

2.What is Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT)?

Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) is a hair restoration procedure in which naturally-occurring groups of one to four hairs, called follicular units, are transplanted from the donor area to the recipient area.
In FUT, after the patient’s scalp is numbed, the doctor removes a thin strip of tissue from the back and/or sides of the scalp. The donor strip is then separated into hundreds to thousands of individual follicular units using precise stereo-microscopic dissection techniques. As the follicular unit grafts are being prepared, the doctor makes tiny slits in the scalp (recipient sites), into which the grafts are placed.
If well executed, the use of follicular units ensures that the transplant results will look completely natural and be undetectable.

3.What is Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)?

Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) is a method of extracting, or “harvesting,” follicular units one-by-one directly from the scalp. In FUE, an instrument is used to make small, circular incisions in the skin around follicular units, separating them from the surrounding tissue. The follicular unit is then extracted (pulled) directly from the scalp, leaving a small open hole that heals with a small white mark.
This method of donor harvesting is what differentiates the FUE procedure from Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT), in which the donor hair is removed in a long strip that is dissected into individual follicular units under a stereo-microscope. The creation of recipient sites and the placing of follicular unit grafts are essentially the same in FUE and FUT procedures.

4.How Long Does it Take to Heal?

There is some redness and crusting after the procedure. Some patients experience swelling during the first week after surgery. Hair transplants are usually undetectable after 10 days. Follicular unit grafts are permanent in the scalp after 10 days.

5.What precautions am I supposed to take after the procedure?

• You may have some pain on the first two days and difficulty in sleeping, you can take one tablet of ultracet for pain relief. Pain, if present, is usually very tolerable and not much, hence, don’t be worried about the same.
• Avoid strenuous activities, activities involving lifting heavy weights, excessive sweating, long runs, swimming, activities involving prolonged direct sun exposure, etc for a week to ten days after the surgery. Please remember that care taken in the first week to ten days is most crucial in giving you a good result. However, you don’t need to take bed-rest or be confined to a fixed place. You can freely continue your day to day activities.
• Avoid smoking/ consuming alcohol after the procedure. Smoking in general contributes to poor result of hair transplant and further worsening of alopecia.
• Avoid sleeping sideways or on your belly for first 48-72 hours after surgery since this may again cause follicles to be rubbed off the recipient area. Use soft, comfortable pillows.
• Avoid touching your transplanted hair, avoid bending down for long or jerky movements – in the first 48-72 hours of surgery.
• First week after: Shampoo very gently. 10 Days after: Grafts are permanent, so you can resume normal shampooing and hair care.