Hair Transplant Surgery
Although many people believe bald is beautiful, it isn't always the preference of someone who is losing or has lost his hair. Men with male pattern baldness can turn to chemical treatments in hopes of turning around systematic hair loss. However, many also elect to have surgery to restore their hair. This article explains what is involved in hair transplant surgery.
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Significance
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Losing your hair is natural. It is estimated that you lose up to 100 strands of hair per day. It's part of the normal hair-growth cycle. In fact, 90 percent of the hair on your head is growing right now. The other 10 percent is in a resting period that lasts a few months. Once that resting period is over, those hairs will fall out and new hairs will take their place.
However, this is not the case with people who have male pattern baldness. With male pattern baldness, the new hairs that grow are not typical follicles. They are actually "peach fuzz," or very fine, light-colored hairs. As time passes, the hairline can recede as the new, cyclical 10 percent continues to turn into peach fuzz and not full follicles. Eventually, the entire head becomes bald.
Function
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Hair-restoration surgery involves using your own head of hair. As mentioned earlier, the hair-growth cycle involves a continual push of follicles found underneath the scalp. Surgeons see these follicles in small patches called "plugs," or follicular units. Each plug contains up to 40 follicles. Hair-restoration surgeons try to extract these plugs from the hair that is still growing normally and place them into spots where you are balding; as many as 2,500 plugs can be transplanted in one procedure.
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Misconceptions
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You should consider a few facts and myths about hair transplant surgery. Male pattern baldness is a genetic disease that cannot be cured. Therefore, hair transplant surgery will not "cure" your baldness. It is just one way to delay the appearance of balding by moving good follicles to the balding spots. People with male pattern baldness will still continue to lose hair; it just won't be as obvious.
Also, only your own hairs can be used in hair transplant surgery. Synthetic hair transplants have not been developed as of yet. Hair transplant surgery also cannot be performed using most other body hairs (you can't move your chest hair to your scalp) or hair from other people, since their genetic follicular makeup is different.
Considerations
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You can expect hair to fall out even after hair restoration surgery. This is a normal reaction of your body when it goes into shock, which can cause hair loss in people without male pattern baldness. As your scalp heals and your body gets over the shock, your hair will continue to return to the normal growth cycle.
Time Frame
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Transplant surgeries can last anywhere from 4 to 6 hours. There is typically little pain involved. Patients can resume normal activities within a day of surgery. Stitches and sutures are removed between 8 and 10 days after surgery. It can take up to 5 months for the new hairs to grow to full length.
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