What can i expect after a hair transplant?
Men who undergo hair transplants are often less than satisfied with the results from their
procedure many people believe that a hair transplant can be a permanent
solution for genetic pattern hair loss particularly after having had just one
procedure I’ll discuss my approach to hair loss in men and women and how I
counsel my patients in regards to the potential impact of hair transplant
surgery in a typical individual with genetic male or female pattern hair loss
I’m Dr. Amiya Prasad I’m a Board-certified cosmetic surgeon and
Fellowship-trained oculofacial plastic and reconstructive surgeon I’ve been in
practice in Manhattan and Long Island for over 20 years I’ve been performing
hair transplant surgery throughout my career I’m also the founder of
Trichostem Hair Regeneration Centers a highly effective non-surgical treatment
for genetic pattern hair loss for men and women who come to us from around the
world this treatment was developed from our application of advanced wound
healing technology to help improve the results of hair transplant surgery based
on the effects seen on thinning hair I created trichostem hair regeneration as
a standalone treatment that has effectively become a
welcomed alternative to hair transplant surgery for men and women who want to
optimally manage their thinning hair issues many people about to get a hair
transplant or who just had a hair transplant think that ongoing
progressive hair loss is effectively treated by a single hair transplant hair
transplant surgery does not treat progressive hair loss at all a hair
transplant involves harvesting hair grafts
from a permanent zone which is a band of hair at the back of the head that are
genetically resistant to hair thinning and transplanting them to an area where
hair has been lost this process does not prevent progressive thinning or future
loss of the native hairs in the scalp the initial results after a hair
transplant can show improvement however as time goes on native hair continues to
thin and without further treatment will disappear as genetically programmed this
behavior is often what leads to the appearance of visible hair plugs
we’re only transplanted hair remains after native hairs disappear there are
two challenges that every hair transplant surgeon and patient has to
deal with one achieving the appearance of natural density two maximizing the
survival of the grafts transplanted natural hair density ranges in
individuals from fifty to a hundred hairs per square centimetre with thicker
hairs providing more scalp coverage than thinner hairs to ensure graft survival
during hair transplant the number of hairs transplanted per square centimetre
is about twenty exceeding 20 grafts per square centimeter puts survival of the
hair grafts at risk as there may not be adequate blood supply to support of the
survival of too many transplanted grafts with safe hair density being limited in
each transplant session it’s important to know that it may take more than one
hair transplant procedure to get closer to natural-looking density graft
survival is perhaps the most important limiting factor in hair transplantation
there are only so many hairs in the permanent zone which can be transplanted
of the absolute number of hairs transplant
a percentage of the grafts do not grow for example a popular hair transplant
surgery such as FUE or follicular unit extraction in this procedure up to 30%
of hair grafts can be lost just from the process of harvesting which results in
something called transection or dividing the graft in a way where the
root remains behind while the hair is placed even with intact hair grafts
survival’s can be unpredictable patients have come in who have had procedures
such as mega sessions and have lost 90% of their hair grafts it is with the
intention to improve hair graft survival and donor area healing that led to the
application of advanced wound healing materials such as extracellular matrix
or Acellular matrix this did result in better graft survival and improvement in
the donor area healing it was during this time that we observed that native
hairs which were not transplanted grew thicker this hair thickening effect was
seen about a year after the transplant was performed this effect on the
existing hair inspired me to pursue the potential of a cellular matrix with PRP
for the treatment of hair loss without hair transplantation I theorized that
thickening existing hair and increasing the number of existing hairs will result
in greater hair density and volume in comparison to hair transplant surgery
over time and continues review of the results of treatment I created
algorithms to customize the treatment based on a person’s hair loss profile
and created trichostem hair regeneration when a person comes to our practice with
hair loss I determine if the hair loss management strategy is best approached
with TrichoStem Hair Regeneration or with hair transplant surgery
in practical terms if you still have a reasonable amount of thinning hair it
makes sense to use a non-surgical trichostem hair regeneration treatment
to maximize coverage before considering hair transplant surgery if the scalp for
example in the front is smooth and has been smooth for three years or longer
the likelihood of hair follicles being present is relatively low which makes
this person a better candidate for hair transplant surgery I recognized that the
overwhelming majority of patients who come in for hair transplant surgery
consultation are people with thinning hair not smooth scalp in the past hair
transplant was the only option for many people
now with TrichoStem Hair Regeneration the majority of people are satisfied
with the results and actually don’t end up getting hair transplant surgery if
you’re a candidate for hair transplant surgery and undergo the surgery what
should you expect after a hair transplant there is a period where the
grafts heal and become integrated with the skin the first week to two weeks is
characterized by multiple scabs at the sites where the hair grafts were placed
with proper care the skin heals and the scabs go away for several weeks
afterwards the scabs are gone and you can feel the short hairs sticking upward
however it’s common to experience temporary loss of the grafts as well as
native hairs this is referred to as shock loss during this period you can
actually look worse in terms of lack of hair coverage than you did before
surgery at about one year the grafts and surviving native hairs will be seen
interestingly people from around the world who’ve undergone hair transplant
surgery find us and inquire about ways to maximize the success of their surgery
I’ve found that TrichoStem Hair Regeneration can help
people who have had hair transplant done elsewhere between one to three months
after surgery in my opinion the treatment helps create an environment
under the skin which supports better hair growth if you think about the
amount of trauma to the scalp during surgery it makes sense that improvement
in blood supply and the tissue quality around the hair follicles should be
advantageous one observation I’ve made for patients who were treated within the
first three months after hair transplant is earlier hair growth than would be
expected in addition the improvement in the existing hair in terms of thickness
as well as the stimulation of native hair results in overall better coverage
essentially helping the hair transplant look better than it otherwise would have
another benefit we’ve seen for people who’ve had hair transplant in the past
is that the quality of the transplanted hair improves after TrichoStem Hair
Regeneration treatment this has been seen in people who have had their two
transplants more than ten years prior as well as people who have had multiple
hair transplant surgeries hair loss does not always require hair transplant
surgery the foundation of managing hair loss is to understand that hair
transplant is one option in a management strategy medical and non-surgical
therapy such as trichostem hair regeneration has been a successful
alternative to hair transplant surgery as well as a useful treatment before
undergoing hair transplant in addition during the first three months after hair
transplant surgery TrichoStem Hair Regeneration has even helped optimize
results after hair transplant surgery I hope you found this information helpful
thank you for your question