Hair Loss Treatment - Hair Transplant FAQs

Author:

Assistant Professor of Clinical Dermatol

New York University School of Medicine

Medically Reviewed On: March 31, 2006

Why have a hair transplant?
The reason why men get hair transplants is to achieve a more or less “permanent” correction of hair loss in order to improve self-esteem and restore a more youthful self-image.

Who can get a transplant?
Any person with noticeable hair loss that includes thinning hair and bald areas, and whose remaining hair is capable of growing in a transplanted location (called a donor-dominant condition), is a candidate for hair transplantation. A donor-dominant condition is one in which transplanted hairs are able to survive at a new location and will live and produce hairs as long as they would have in their previous location. The most common condition seen is so-called male- and female-pattern androgenic alopecia (hereditary hair loss). However, other conditions such as scarring disorders resulting from injury, diseases, or previous surgery of the scalp, can also be treated with hair transplantation.

When should a hair transplant be done?
A hair transplant can be done any time after there is enough hair loss in a particular area, such as the front, middle, or top of the scalp so that noticeable thinning is present on casual examination of the affected area. Hair loss actually begins long before it is noticeable and approximately 50 percent of the hairs in a given area are lost before noticeable thinning becomes apparent.

How is a hair transplant done?
A variable sized section of living scalp containing live hair follicles is removed from the back of the head (donor area) and subsequently microdissected into small so-called follicular unit grafts that are implanted into small surgically produced recipient sites in the balding area (recipient area). The surgical sites are well-healed in 7 to 14 days, and after a delay of 8 to 12 weeks, the transplanted hairs begin to produce new hair shafts.

Where is a hair transplant done?
Hair transplants are done in an outpatient setting. Patients walk in and walk out the same day. Patients are given oral, or in some cases inhalant/intravenous sedation, followed by local anesthesia to the donor and recipient sites.