What Are The 5 Main Factors That Contribute To The Success Of A Hair Transplant Surgery
Gettinga hair transplant is not a decision that should ever be made lightly – thereare plenty of factors that you need to take into consideration. Moreimportantly, you need to first understand whether you are an ideal candidatefor a transplant or not, because just losing hair and noticing bald patchesmight not make you a candidate for the procedure. In order for a transplant tobe successful, first and foremost, there has to be a clear donor and recipientarea. It is just as important that the hair loss should have stabilised,because if you are still in the process of losing hair, a transplant will nothold.
Thereare several factors that can ensure the success or failure of a transplantprocedure, ranging from the experience of the surgeon to how well equipped theclinic is. However, there are 5 main factors that contribute to the success of a hair restoration surgery:
1. Diagnosis and planning:This is perhaps the most crucial step, because as they say, well begun is halfdone! The first thing that your doctor needs to do is analyse the cause of yourhair loss, as this will allow them to plan a proper course of action. If yourhair loss has stabilised, you should be the perfect candidate for a transplant;however, if you are still losing hair, you might either be asked to wait alittle longer or the procedure might have to be adapted to the same. If you arestill losing hair, an experienced surgeon will be able to predict which partsof your head you might be losing hair next and include those areas in theprocedure. The manner in which the hairline is being planned is also just asimportant, as it needs to take into consideration, the next few decades. Thesurgeon needs to make sure that hairline is designed in such a way that is completelynatural looking.
2. Careful extraction of the grafts – A transplant is basically the process oftaking grafts from one part of the body to another. If, in any case, thegraftsare damaged during the extraction, they would be rendered useless andthis could possibly lead to the failureof the procedure. If such hair follicles are implanted, there will be no hairgrowth, leading to the procedure being a failure. It is in the hands of thesurgeons to ensure that each graft they extract is taken care of, till the timeit is implanted back into the recipient area. The surgeon should keep in mind,factors such as the exit angle, the direction of each follicular unit and alsothe correct orientation. It is just as important that the connective tissues,surrounding each graft are also kept safe, because these will help nurture newhair growth.
3. Ensuring proper storage of the harvested grafts – The minute the grafts are extractedfrom your scalp, they become vulnerable and in order to keep them viable, theyneed to be granted extreme care. For instance, the grafts need to be stored ata temperature of 4*C and the storage solution has to be well balanced. Althoughthe grafts are safe within the storage solution and temperature check, it isbest that the grafts are implanted as soon as possible. However, with more andmore surgeons opting for the FUE or follicular unit extraction, the time eachgraft spends outside the body is drastically reduced – in this procedure, thegraft is removed and almost instantaneously, implanted into the recipient area.Because the implantation is almost immediate, there is no need for any storageor solutions.
4. The actual placing of the grafts – While the manner in which the grafts areextracted is important, how they are implanted is just as important. It isimperative that the surgeon take time to study the actual pattern of hairgrowth of the patient, before even starting the procedure. The growth patternof each person will vary from the other, which is why, each transplantprocedure will be different and needs to be customised. How the grafts will beplaced is something that needs to be decided right at the planning stage. Thesurgeon needs to take into account the direction of the hair follicles andensure that the implantation is being done at the same angle to ensure naturallooking hair growth. The angle at which the grafts exit from the scalp is alsoimportant and in most cases, it would be at a 40* angle from the scalp. Thiscould however, vary depending on how the person has always kept their hair –someone who has always kept a side parting would have a different angle ascompared to someone who always pulled their hair backwards. The surgeon alsoneeds to pay attention on how to create the right amount of density in the daysto come, because the implantation is the foundation of future hair growth.
5. Care of the hair post-surgery–The pre and post op careof a hair transplant surgery is just as important asany of the other steps. From giving up habits such as smoking and consumptionof alcohol for a certain amount of time, to taking full care of how the hair isbeing washed, there will be several steps that you will need to take. The reasonwhy you will be asked to avoid smoking and drinking is because these couldaffect the blood supply to the newly implanted grafts. There will be specificprecautions you will have to take while washing your hair and keeping themclean and it is imperative that you pay attention and do exactly what you havebeen instructed. You will be asked to avoid very heavy or strenuous activitiesand you should make sure that you don’t do the same.
The success of a transplantprocedure depends on all these factors and this is exactly why you need to goto a surgeon of repute and experience, because they will keep all these factorsin mind.
Thereare several factors that can ensure the success or failure of a transplantprocedure, ranging from the experience of the surgeon to how well equipped theclinic is. However, there are 5 main factors that contribute to the success of a hair restoration surgery:
1. Diagnosis and planning:This is perhaps the most crucial step, because as they say, well begun is halfdone! The first thing that your doctor needs to do is analyse the cause of yourhair loss, as this will allow them to plan a proper course of action. If yourhair loss has stabilised, you should be the perfect candidate for a transplant;however, if you are still losing hair, you might either be asked to wait alittle longer or the procedure might have to be adapted to the same. If you arestill losing hair, an experienced surgeon will be able to predict which partsof your head you might be losing hair next and include those areas in theprocedure. The manner in which the hairline is being planned is also just asimportant, as it needs to take into consideration, the next few decades. Thesurgeon needs to make sure that hairline is designed in such a way that is completelynatural looking.
2. Careful extraction of the grafts – A transplant is basically the process oftaking grafts from one part of the body to another. If, in any case, thegraftsare damaged during the extraction, they would be rendered useless andthis could possibly lead to the failureof the procedure. If such hair follicles are implanted, there will be no hairgrowth, leading to the procedure being a failure. It is in the hands of thesurgeons to ensure that each graft they extract is taken care of, till the timeit is implanted back into the recipient area. The surgeon should keep in mind,factors such as the exit angle, the direction of each follicular unit and alsothe correct orientation. It is just as important that the connective tissues,surrounding each graft are also kept safe, because these will help nurture newhair growth.
3. Ensuring proper storage of the harvested grafts – The minute the grafts are extractedfrom your scalp, they become vulnerable and in order to keep them viable, theyneed to be granted extreme care. For instance, the grafts need to be stored ata temperature of 4*C and the storage solution has to be well balanced. Althoughthe grafts are safe within the storage solution and temperature check, it isbest that the grafts are implanted as soon as possible. However, with more andmore surgeons opting for the FUE or follicular unit extraction, the time eachgraft spends outside the body is drastically reduced – in this procedure, thegraft is removed and almost instantaneously, implanted into the recipient area.Because the implantation is almost immediate, there is no need for any storageor solutions.
4. The actual placing of the grafts – While the manner in which the grafts areextracted is important, how they are implanted is just as important. It isimperative that the surgeon take time to study the actual pattern of hairgrowth of the patient, before even starting the procedure. The growth patternof each person will vary from the other, which is why, each transplantprocedure will be different and needs to be customised. How the grafts will beplaced is something that needs to be decided right at the planning stage. Thesurgeon needs to take into account the direction of the hair follicles andensure that the implantation is being done at the same angle to ensure naturallooking hair growth. The angle at which the grafts exit from the scalp is alsoimportant and in most cases, it would be at a 40* angle from the scalp. Thiscould however, vary depending on how the person has always kept their hair –someone who has always kept a side parting would have a different angle ascompared to someone who always pulled their hair backwards. The surgeon alsoneeds to pay attention on how to create the right amount of density in the daysto come, because the implantation is the foundation of future hair growth.
5. Care of the hair post-surgery–The pre and post op careof a hair transplant surgery is just as important asany of the other steps. From giving up habits such as smoking and consumptionof alcohol for a certain amount of time, to taking full care of how the hair isbeing washed, there will be several steps that you will need to take. The reasonwhy you will be asked to avoid smoking and drinking is because these couldaffect the blood supply to the newly implanted grafts. There will be specificprecautions you will have to take while washing your hair and keeping themclean and it is imperative that you pay attention and do exactly what you havebeen instructed. You will be asked to avoid very heavy or strenuous activitiesand you should make sure that you don’t do the same.
The success of a transplantprocedure depends on all these factors and this is exactly why you need to goto a surgeon of repute and experience, because they will keep all these factorsin mind.
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