Evolution of the Hair Transplant in Stages

Hair transplantation is not a novel procedure, particularly in industrialised countries. Numerous individuals (both men and women) appear to be choosing it for cosmetic reasons. The effect is flawless and appears natural. However, it is not as straightforward as that; rigorous techniques are required to accomplish this. That is why an outstanding hair transplant outcome is critical not only for the patient but also for the surgeon.

This article provides an excellent opportunity to learn about the history and evolution of hair transplantation, the procedure itself, and the stages of hair transplantation.

So, what is a hair transplant?

Hair transplantation is a surgical procedure in which a dermatologist or plastic surgeon relocates hair to a bald area of the head. Typically, the surgeon will reposition hair from the rear or side of the head to the front.

In a nutshell, a hair transplant is a surgical procedure that involves the extraction of hair follicles from any location on the body and transplanting them to the hairless area. Simple!

The Evolution of the Hair Transplant

When it comes to the history of hair transplants, we can go all the way back to 1952, when Dr. Norman Orentreich, a dermatologist at New York University, performed the first hair transplant to address male pattern hair loss. He was even known as the “Father of Modern Hair Transplants.”

The hair plug procedure was common among surgeons at the time. Taking massive punch grafts was the goal of this approach. They would do this by harvesting dozens of hairs from the rear of the scalp and transplanting them to the front.

This technique was unrivalled at the time because there was no other feasible option.

However, the result of this treatment was an unnatural look of hair tufts, with huge intervals between them instead of the usual individual hair follicles of the natural hairline.

In the early 1990s, Dr. Bobby Limmer pioneered the contemporary hair transplantation process. He was the first to perform hair transplantation using follicular unit transplantation (FUT).

Follicular units are transplanted in modern hair transplantation. Hair follicles grow in groups of one to four hairs in follicular units, which are natural clusters of hair follicles. They also have an average of two hairs in a group.

A long or thin piece of tissue is removed from the posterior scalp during Follicular Unit Transplantation, often known as the strip procedure. Then, using stereomicroscopy dissection, individual follicular units are extracted from the strip.

The wound will seal and leave a fine linear scar after the follicles have been effectively collected.

Follicular unit extraction is a new hair transplant procedure that has been developed in addition to FUT (FUE). Individual follicular units are harvested from the posterior scalp using this novel process, which can be done manually or with the help of robots.

Then, similarly to FUT operations, follicular units are transplanted into recipient locations in the frontal hairline.

Let us look at the two different types of FUE hair transplants: manual and robotic.

Manual FUE hair transplant

Speaking of manual FUE transplants, a physician carries out manual FUE with the aid of a handheld machine to remove the individual hair follicles.

Robotic FUE hair transplant

A physician and a robotic hair transplant equipment are used in this treatment. The doctor will instruct the robotic hair transplant equipment on what should be done and how much should be done.

The doctor determines how much hair to harvest and where the donor areas should be. The donor grafts will not be harvested by the physician; instead, they will be harvested by the ARTAS robot.

This medical peak is unrivalled since it ensures that the surgeon’s work is precise and flawless.

The stages of hair transplantation are the next topic we will talk about with you. The steps of a hair transplant are as follows:

Getting ready for the hair transplant

Hair follicles from the back of the head will be plucked and transplanted to the balding sides in the first step of hair transplant surgery.

Removal of the donor area hair.

Hair in the donor area should be cut prior to surgery to prepare for the procedure.

The donor area has been prepared for surgery.

After the hair in the donor area is removed, the patient should be given local anaesthetic, which will make the surgery painless.

The donor area should be sutured and the tissue in the donor area should be removed.

The bald resistive hair follicle-containing tissue in the donor area will be surgically removed, and the donor area will be connected.

Hair is combed over the sutured donor area.

The donor region sutures will be disguised by the patient’s hair, which will be brushed over them. These sutures should be removed ten days after the hair transplant procedure is completed.

Follicular unit transplants are created from donor tissue.

Surgical technicians will utilise microscopes to examine the donor tissue for dissection and preparation of the hair grafts in the follicular unit.

Preparation of the recipient bald area

The balding recipient area should be readied for the surgical process as soon as the patient is given local anaesthetic. Hair removal or cutting at the top of the recipient region is also no longer necessary.

The balding patches are incised with incisions.

Follicular unit grafts from the donor areas will be carefully planted in the recipient area’s microscopic incisions, which are marked in an uneven pattern.

Grafts are positioned based on their densities.

The smallest grafts (one and two) will be implanted in front of the hairline, followed by three and four (which are denser than one and two).

After-surgery visibility of short hair

Some microscopic incisions with short hair will be evident on the operated area of the patient immediately after the surgical hair transplant; it will be reddish.

Hair Transplant Surgery Is Completed

The incision marks will heal spontaneously within a week, and the redness in the recipient area will fade away on its own.

It is vital to keep in mind that a successful hair transplant can take up to a week to recover from the transplantation. After that, the patient can bask in the glory of their new appearance.

Conclusion

Surgeons all across the world have had their jobs made easier because of the evolution and advancements in hair transplantation technologies. Hair transplants have also alleviated the problem of persons with hair loss and baldness by providing them a more beautiful and natural appearance following a successful hair transplant procedure.