What Is Hair Transplant Surgery
Hair transplant surgery is a relatively unexplored field in South Africa. There are various techniques used for the procedure. The procedure is generally best suited for patients with Androgenetic Alopecia, with straight hair shafts. These techniques include:
Follicular Unit Transplant (FUT)/Strip method: Surgical excision of a strip of scalp skin from which all the follicular units are harvested and transplanted into the recipient areas. This procedure is not used as much anymore, due to the large and obvious linear scar at the donor site. This is the most suitable treatment option for afro hair.
Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) method: Individual follicular unit extraction from the donor site, one by one, using a pedal operated mechanical drill with a punch tip attached that fits over a complete follicular unit and excises it. Each follicular unit is then transplanted into the recipient area. With some difficulty and rather poor treatment success, this method can be used for afro hair if the dissection punch is large enough to accommodate a coiled hair shaft.
Robotic method: This is the latest development in hair restoration. The hair transplant robot identifies and extracts follicular units by determining the exact extraction angle and depth, under the guidance of the hair transplant surgeon. This procedure is not yet recognised to be effective for afro hair. Dr. Maricia makes use of both FUE and Robotic hair transplant techniques. All patients who are interested in hair transplant surgery will require a thorough medical consultation and examination before such a treatment can be scheduled.
Follicular Unit Transplant (FUT)/Strip method: Surgical excision of a strip of scalp skin from which all the follicular units are harvested and transplanted into the recipient areas. This procedure is not used as much anymore, due to the large and obvious linear scar at the donor site. This is the most suitable treatment option for afro hair.
Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) method: Individual follicular unit extraction from the donor site, one by one, using a pedal operated mechanical drill with a punch tip attached that fits over a complete follicular unit and excises it. Each follicular unit is then transplanted into the recipient area. With some difficulty and rather poor treatment success, this method can be used for afro hair if the dissection punch is large enough to accommodate a coiled hair shaft.
Robotic method: This is the latest development in hair restoration. The hair transplant robot identifies and extracts follicular units by determining the exact extraction angle and depth, under the guidance of the hair transplant surgeon. This procedure is not yet recognised to be effective for afro hair. Dr. Maricia makes use of both FUE and Robotic hair transplant techniques. All patients who are interested in hair transplant surgery will require a thorough medical consultation and examination before such a treatment can be scheduled.
What Hair Transplant Surgery Treats:
TREATABLE ALOPECIA:
UNTREATABLE ALOPECIA
- Male pattern baldness graded earlier than Norwood-Hamilton grade V.
- All patients with Norwood-Hamilton grading of VI-VII, might be treated with multiple treatments. The decision to perform surgery will be determined by the donor area density as well as the patient’s expectations
UNTREATABLE ALOPECIA
- Transplantation into alopecia areata lesions is not recommended due to poor results, especially when rapid hair loss continues around the graft.
- Norwood stage VII hair loss with a fringe that consists of very sparse hair. A patient with a family history of this type of baldness is unlikely to achieve good lasting results, especially if the patient is young. This is because the recipient area expands at the expense of the donor area, the donor supply is significantly constrained.
- Low donor density or poor hair characteristics have limited potential for coverage. This is especially true for donor densities less than 50-60 FU/cm2, very fine hair, FUs with predominantly 1-2 follicles, extensive miniaturization, or other signs or symptoms of diffuse unpatterned alopecia.
- Stress related alopecia in the actively shedding stage, or with unpredictable shedding.
- Young patients under the age of 28 years, with advanced signs of hair loss. Because a balding young patient has many years of progressive loss in front of him, it is difficult to predict the final extent of hair loss. There is a real risk in these cases that transplantation will create a pattern that will look unnatural in the future that cannot be corrected with the remaining hair supply.
Non-Surgical Hair Restoration Treatments:
- All patients that require hair loss treatments will first be managed medically, this includes patients for hair transplant surgery.
This includes:- Full Integrative Medicine work-up with lifestyle modifications, supplement recommendations and prescription medication where necessary.
- Injection mesotherapy with growth factors, amino acids, vitamins and minerals.
- Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) treatments
- Bio-identical hormone replacement therapy where necessary
- Intravenous infusions (IV’s)
Medical management of hair loss is aimed at preventing the contributing factors to hair loss and providing an ideal environment for hair growth and cessation of active shedding.
Patients for hair transplant surgery will be required to follow through with medical treatment with diligent compliance in able to prevent post surgical shedding.
BOOK AN APPOINTMENT
2021 © All Rights Reserved | Dr. Maricia Aesthetic & Integrative Medicine
Website designed by New Era Marketing