Hair transplant
All content is checked by medical journalists.A hair transplant is a procedure in which hair is redistributed into hairless or thinly haired areas. Since the hair roots come from the patient himself, it is also known as a hair transplant. New hair roots can be planted in the scalp or in the area of the eyebrows, beard hair or pubic hair. Read all about hair transplantation, when to do it, and the risks.
What is a hair transplant?
With hair transplantation (hair transplantation), the doctor removes healthy hair roots from the patient and reinserts them on a bald part of the body. Since the hair roots come from the patient himself, the procedure is also known as an own hair transplant. This is a cosmetic procedure, there is usually no medical need.
The eyelash or eyebrow transplantation is an exception: These hairs have the task of protecting the eyes from dirt and sweat.
For an area of 50 square centimeters, the surgeon has to transplant 500 to 1000 hairs. Precise information cannot be given, as hair has individual structures and therefore looks differently “full” in every person.
Hair Transplant: FUE (Follicular Unit Exraction)
Nowadays the so-called FUE hair transplantation (Follicular Unit Extraction) is mainly used in Germany, currently the only minimally invasive and therefore gentle method of hair transplantation.
Human hair grows in natural bundles that contain one to five hairs - so-called follicular units. With FUE, the doctor not only removes a hair root, but a complete FUE.
When to do a hair transplant
A hair transplant can help patients with the following diseases:
- Hair loss caused by hormones in men and women
- Hereditary forms of hair loss
- Scarred hair loss (for example after accidents, burns, operations or radiation)
Many of the diseases mentioned require a hair transplant to improve body awareness: receding hairlines can be refilled, a receding hairline can be moved forward. A beard transplant can help men who are compromised, for example, from a burn from bald spots.
What do you do with a hair transplant?
First, the doctor takes photos of the hairless part of the body and, in consultation with the patient, marks the desired hairline with a pen.
Under local anesthesia, an experienced surgical team can transplant around 500 to 2000 grafts per procedure. Several sessions are necessary for a larger number of hairs.
Hair transplant with FUE
Before the operation, the entire area of the hairline is shaved. Now the doctor cuts the skin around the hair root groups with hollow needles. The hair groups are exposed with two tweezers and then pulled out. The extraction point usually does not have to be sutured with FUE; the wound that is left heals on its own.
The transplants are kept moist under the microscope in cooled solutions and prepared - because if they dry out, the hair roots die off. Unsuitable hair is sorted out. To insert the hair, the doctor creates tiny channels in the skin with a fine needle, in which he places the hair follicles. They heal on their own and do not need to be fixed.
Hair transplantation with conventional technique (strip technique)
With the strip technique, the doctor cuts a strip of skin with the hair growing on it from the patient's scalp. He closes the extraction point with sutures or staples. The individual hair follicles are now carved out of the strip of skin, which the doctor then transplanted into the bald areas as with FUE.
Since the stripe technique creates a larger scar, FUE is preferred today because of its better aesthetic result.
What are the risks of a hair transplant?
Women and men who wish to have a hair transplant need to be informed of the possible dangers of the procedure. Although complications are rare with a properly performed hair transplant by an experienced doctor, bleeding can occur, for example, if the punctures are too deep. As a result, severe swellings often form in the first few days after hair transplantation, which can extend into the facial area. Swelling of the eyelids in particular is a nuisance for the patient, but not dangerous.
The human scalp is very well supplied with blood. Since germs and bacteria mainly settle in areas with poor blood circulation, the risk of infection with hair transplantation of scalp hair is only low.
After a hair transplant, many patients experience numbness or tingling sensation in the surgical area, which usually disappears on its own after two to four weeks. Sensory disturbances of this kind rarely persist for several months.
What do I have to consider after a hair transplant?
After the hair transplant, a scab forms first, which comes off after about five to seven days. Please do not scrape off the scab, even if it itches; this only disrupts the healing process and makes it easier for bacteria to penetrate the tissue.
At the discretion of your doctor, you will be given an antibiotic for about three days to prevent infections. This is particularly useful for high-risk patients with poor circulation, such as diabetics. If necessary, your doctor will give you a pain reliever, and cooling the transplanted region will also have a pain-relieving effect.
Keep the sampling site closed with a suture dry until the wound has healed. Use special waterproof shower plasters for washing. You can get this at the pharmacy, for example. The sutures are removed two weeks after the operation at the earliest.
You can wash your hair with a mild, unscented shampoo from the third day after the procedure - baby shampoo is not recommended for this. You should only dye or dye your hair after four to six weeks.
Don't be alarmed if the hair that has just been transplanted falls out. Since the skin was temporarily only poorly supplied with oxygen during the operation, the hair is initially shed - but not the hair roots! New hair grows from these around eight to twelve weeks after the hair transplant. The final result can only be assessed after eight to ten months.
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