Hair Therapy & Transplantation
Open Access

Hair Transplantation and its Procedure

Iaisha Ali^{* *}Correspondence: Iaisha Ali, Department of Dermatology, Aligarh Muslim University, Uttar Pradesh, India, Email:

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Description

Hair transplantation is a surgical procedure in which hair follicles are removed from the "donor site" on one region of the body and placed on the "receiver site," a bald or balding area. Male pattern baldness is the main condition that this method is used to address. Grafts with hair follicles that are genetically resistant to balding are transplanted to the bald scalp during this minimally invasive process. Hair transplantation can also be used to cover scars left by accidents or surgery, including facelifts and prior hair transplants, and to regrow hair on the chest, pubic area, beard, eyelashes, eyebrows, and beard. In contrast to skin grafting, hair transplantation uses numerous microscopic grafts rather than a single strip of skin and contains practically all of the epidermis and dermis around the hair follicle. Current methods for harvesting and transplanting hair "follicular units" preserve the natural clusters of 1-4 hairs that hair grows in since this is how hair grows in nature. Thus, by imitating the original hair direction, contemporary hair transplantation can produce a natural-looking result.

Procedure

Pre-operative assessment and planning: During the initial consultation, the surgeon examines the patient's scalp, talks with them about their preferences and expectations, and offers advice on the best course of action and what outcomes are realistically anticipated. To appropriately analyze the postoperative effects of freshly transplanted hair grafts, pre-operative folliscopy will help to determine the real existing hair density. Preoperative topical minoxidil treatment and vitamin supplementation may be beneficial for some individuals. The patient abstains from using any medications for a number of days before to surgery in case they cause intraoperative haemorrhage and poor grafting as a result. Poor graft survival can be attributed to drinking and smoking. Antibiotics are frequently recommended following surgery to avoid wound or graft infections.

Harvesting methods: Mild sedation and injectable local anaesthetic are used during outpatient transplant procedures. Before the donor scalp is extracted, the scalp is shampooed and then treated with an antimicrobial agent. Harvesting hair follicles can be done using a variety of methods, each of which has benefits and drawbacks. In order to ensure the survivability of the transplanted hair and prevent transection the cutting of the hair shaft from the hair follicle proper extraction of the hair follicle is essential, regardless of the harvesting method. Since the skin's surface and hair follicles develop at a tiny angle, transplanted tissue must be removed at a matching angle.

Strip harvesting: The most popular method for removing hair and follicles from a donor site is called "strip harvesting." A strip of skin is removed by the surgeon from the posterior scalp, which is where healthy hair growth occurs. Strips of tissue containing hair are cut from the donor location using a single, double, or triple-bladed scalpel. Each incision is designed to remove intact hair follicles. Assistants start to separate individual follicular unit grafts from the strip while stitching up the ensuing wound. These are tiny, naturally occurring collections of hair follicles. They gently cut away extra fibrous and fatty tissue using binocular stereomicroscopes, taking care not to harm the follicular cells that would be used for the graft.

The most recent closure technique, known as "Trichophytic closure," leaves substantially smaller scars at the donor location. Strip harvesting will leave a thin, linear scar in the donor area, although even at very short lengths, a patient's hair will usually cover this scar. During the approximate two-week recovery time, the medical staff will either need to remove the sutures or staples, or subcuticular suturing may be possible.