Hair transplantation is a complex, but particularly effective procedure, which is, currently, the pinnacle of counter-balding technology. There is a lot of nuance and detail in hair transplantation procedure, and it is essential to learn as much as possible about what can this procedure achieve, how it is performed, rehabilitation and care, transplantation techniques and necessary preparation.
Success of hair transplantation is affected by a range of factors:
Alopecia is a common issues for men and women alike, and in certain cases hair growth can be achieved by the means of trnsplantation only.
Hair transplantion is impressively efficient, but is quite a complex procedure, that requires a skilled and certified surgeon. It is indeed a surgical work, where the devil in the detail is omnipresent – from graft implantation angle to its precise placement location and depth. Proper preparation is of essence, the surgeon’s consultation and pre-conditioning of the target area are a must.
FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction). This technique involves manual extraction of grafts from the donor area (nape, back and sides of scalp), and manual implantation in the target area. The surgeon has to manually carve a channel at the target site for the graft, which ensures perfect placement of each follicle. The procedure is performed under local anaesthesia. Such approach takes quite a while – up to 8 hours, but the successful implantation rate is impressive 97- 100% of transplanted follicles survive the procedure and continue to grow. Ther no scars left neither in the donor, nor in the target areas. The disadvantage of such approach is a requirement to shave hair in the donor area.
DHI (Direct Hair Implantation). This is a newer technique. It does not require hair shaving and manual channel carving. It applies a specific tool, that both shapes the graft site and implants the graft simultaneously, which makes the procedure faster and allows handling of long uncut hair. It is slightly less efficient when compared to FUE (95% successful implantation rate) and has a smaller area coverage, as maximum number of grafts transplanted in one procedure is limited at 4000. There is no scarring in any of the affected sites, similarly to FUE.
Both methods give naturally looking results, have similar recovery times and success rates. The FUE gives more control over graft placement and may cover larger areas in one go, while DHI surgery has shorter duration and is generally cheaper.
