Since the mid-1990s, surgical techniques in hair restoration have come a long way.
Gone are the old 'corn-rows' of visible hair plugs, replaced by virtually undetectable follicular unit grafts.
Thanks to innovations in technology, microsurgical proficiencies, improved instrumentation, and state-of-the art techniques known as follicular unit transplant (FUT), modern hair transplants have evolved to look completely natural by mimicking an individual's own hair growth pattern.
Surgeons have learned to harvest and isolate small, naturally occurring groups of donor hairs, i.
e.
, micrografts (1 hair grafts) and follicular unit grafts (1-4 hair grafts) from the patient's own head.
This method allows for more transplanted growing hairs in one procedure than any other method to-date.
Employing high magnification, the surgeon and surgical team will dissect these hair grafts into smaller slit grafts each containing a small number of hairs.
Typically, hair in the back and sides of the head is genetically immune from male-pattern baldness, and if the quality and quantity are sufficient, once transplanted, the hair will take root in less populated areas.
The small number of hairs in each slit graft and the placement of these grafts enable the surgeon to emulate the patient's own hair growth pattern and ensure a soft and becoming look; albeit, not as thick and dense as previously.
For example, a Caucasian male may lose up to 40,000 individual hairs over time.
If the surgeon moves 1-4 or 7-8 hairs per graft, how much hair and time is required to replace these lost 40,000 hairs? A significant amount of hair needs to be moved to achieve and maximize the desired density.
During one session, your surgeon may transplant thousands of these follicular units.
The procedure is labor intensive and may take between 4-6 hours to complete.
Full results from the surgery may not be realized until 12 months post-op.
Always evolving, issues in the forefront of the field today include: maximizing hair density, minimizing visible surgery scars and creating a natural and undetectable.
This is achieved by concentrating on recreating the patient's original hairline while enhancing the temporal, front, mid-scalp and crown areas.
Today's methods allow a faster rate of recovery, while leaving minimal scarring and skin damage.
A 2010 survey conducted by the International Society for Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) determined that the majority of people could not identify a hair transplant when shown a series of photos comparing actual patients to non-patients.
Results indicated that 88.
3% of respondents were not able to correctly identify the female recipient when shown a series of four photographs with only one actual patient.
Similarly, when asked to identify the male recipient in a series of four photos, 65.
5% of respondents could not pick the actual subject.
So, what does this tell us? It tells us that in this day and age, should a patient elect a surgical hair restoration procedure with a qualified, experienced surgeon and expert team of technicians employing the latest technological advances, it is highly likely that he or she will achieve a natural looking, indiscernible, permanent hair enhancement.
Gone are the old 'corn-rows' of visible hair plugs, replaced by virtually undetectable follicular unit grafts.
Thanks to innovations in technology, microsurgical proficiencies, improved instrumentation, and state-of-the art techniques known as follicular unit transplant (FUT), modern hair transplants have evolved to look completely natural by mimicking an individual's own hair growth pattern.
Surgeons have learned to harvest and isolate small, naturally occurring groups of donor hairs, i.
e.
, micrografts (1 hair grafts) and follicular unit grafts (1-4 hair grafts) from the patient's own head.
This method allows for more transplanted growing hairs in one procedure than any other method to-date.
Employing high magnification, the surgeon and surgical team will dissect these hair grafts into smaller slit grafts each containing a small number of hairs.
Typically, hair in the back and sides of the head is genetically immune from male-pattern baldness, and if the quality and quantity are sufficient, once transplanted, the hair will take root in less populated areas.
The small number of hairs in each slit graft and the placement of these grafts enable the surgeon to emulate the patient's own hair growth pattern and ensure a soft and becoming look; albeit, not as thick and dense as previously.
For example, a Caucasian male may lose up to 40,000 individual hairs over time.
If the surgeon moves 1-4 or 7-8 hairs per graft, how much hair and time is required to replace these lost 40,000 hairs? A significant amount of hair needs to be moved to achieve and maximize the desired density.
During one session, your surgeon may transplant thousands of these follicular units.
The procedure is labor intensive and may take between 4-6 hours to complete.
Full results from the surgery may not be realized until 12 months post-op.
Always evolving, issues in the forefront of the field today include: maximizing hair density, minimizing visible surgery scars and creating a natural and undetectable.
This is achieved by concentrating on recreating the patient's original hairline while enhancing the temporal, front, mid-scalp and crown areas.
Today's methods allow a faster rate of recovery, while leaving minimal scarring and skin damage.
A 2010 survey conducted by the International Society for Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) determined that the majority of people could not identify a hair transplant when shown a series of photos comparing actual patients to non-patients.
Results indicated that 88.
3% of respondents were not able to correctly identify the female recipient when shown a series of four photographs with only one actual patient.
Similarly, when asked to identify the male recipient in a series of four photos, 65.
5% of respondents could not pick the actual subject.
So, what does this tell us? It tells us that in this day and age, should a patient elect a surgical hair restoration procedure with a qualified, experienced surgeon and expert team of technicians employing the latest technological advances, it is highly likely that he or she will achieve a natural looking, indiscernible, permanent hair enhancement.
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