Hair Transplantation

What is Hair Transplantation?

Hair transplantationis a process of permanent hair transplantation in people whose hair loss result in partial or complete baldness depending on genetic or other metabolic and structural reasons.
Until today, many techniques have been applied for this purpose. In the early stages of hair transplantation, undesirable conditions such as inadequate hair follicle removal, scarring formation, unnatural appearance were experienced, but nowadays, with the developing technology, hair transplantation techniques have also undergone regeneration and development.
 
This innovative approach brings along the prevention of scars, as large as possible number of hair follicles and hair transplants as advantages.
Hair transplantation process consists of various stages. These steps, in a broad sense, include pre-implementation, the implementation itself and post-implementation stages. The hair transplantation process itself consists of 3 stages;

1.    Obtaining the roots,

2.    Opening channels to be placed,

3.    Transplantation

Hair follicles to be transplanted are taken from the person, especially from the scalp in the back of the head. In appropriate cases, roots from the back or chest can also be used. There are two main methods for hair root removal. These are FUT and FUEmethods. The methods of hair transplantation can also be used in the transplantation on temple, beard, mustache and eyebrow .

Hair Transplantation Methods

People who know that hair loss is now very clear and that there is no return after lost, should apply to the best hair transplantation expert without losing time. With the advancing technology, almost abundant hair transplantation is now performed instead of the lost hair. At the same time, hair transplantation is performed without scars and the need for surgery . In addition, your doctor should decide whether to apply hair transplantation without shaving the hair.

The methods are divided into 2: Both methods are applied as live hair follicle transplantation.
1.The difference between them is that in the first technique FUE (follicular unit extraction) method does not leave any scar in the place where hair is taken from the posterior part of the hair. In the second method, there is a small scar like a line, where the hair root is taken from back of the two ears.

2. In FUT operation a part of the scalp at the back of the patient's head is taken as a strip. The size of this strip is determined by the number of grafts needed. After the procedure, there is a small incision scar in this area. The strips are divided into 1 to 4 rooted grafts and ready for transplanting.

FUE or FUT Hair Transplantation?

Comparison of FUE vs FUT Method

Number of Grafts is Important

The FUT technique is based on obtaining the grafts with a diameter of between 0.9-0.5 mm one by one from the same region with the help of an electric micromotor. Each of these grafts has 1-4 roots.
It is possible to implement both methods of grafting with confidence. But with some aspects FUE technique is more advantageous than the FUT application. What are the advantages of FUE technique in hair transplantation?

Smaller size grafting is possible in FUE operation. Since, when these grafts with fine structure are placed in the channels, the inclination and direction determination can be easily realized, this helps the natural appearance.
 
In FUE technique; all hair should be shortened before starting to obtain the grafts. In the FUT technique, only the strip-shaped section to be removed is shortened. Nevertheless, due to the other advantages provided by the FUE technique; nowadays, it is the more preferred method of grafting. However, FUT technique may be preferred in patients who do not want this procedure in their hair.
 
The stage after taking the roots is the canal opening to the hair loss area. For this purpose, lateral slit method is applied to the patient. The lateral slit method is performed with specially produced cutting tips. These mini-surgical scalpels allow the opening of the canals to conform to the normal anatomy. These opened canals allow the grafts to be inserted into the new slots with the desired and required horizontal angles.

Are There Any Side Effects of Hair Transplantation?

As with any medical procedure, there may be some side effects in hair transplantation.
•    Bleeding findings,
•    Light swelling,
•    Infection risks,
•    Circulatory disorders,
•    Bruising around the eye,
•    A light scab in the skin area where the hair is removed or implanted,
•    Numbness in transplant regions,
•    Itching

 After the appropriate number of canaling operations is completed for the maximum number of grafts that can be taken, now the turn comes to the transplantation (placing) of the roots. After the transplantation is completed, the dressing is applied to the forehead and transplant area of the patient. The patient is discharged in a bandaged manner. 4 days after the procedure, the bandage is opened by the doctor. After a hair wash period of 5-7 days, the transplanting area becomes normal.
 
In the first 1 or 2 months after transplanting, the hair bodies of the roots can be shed. From the third month on, the patient experiences that the new hair starts to come off. In the first 6 months following the transplantation, a large number of hair is grown. In the second 6-month period, the remaining hair is grown and the patient gets the last vision within a period of 12-14 months.
 
Although thehair transplantation technique is very comfortable in today's conditions and it is a satisfactory application, it is of vital importance that the operation is carried out under the leadership of an experienced team, especially a plastic surgeon, under the conditions of the operating room where the anesthesiologist is involved.
Hair transplantation is the most accurate solution to baldness problem nowadays.
 
Our hair is not one of the first things that come to mind when it comes to beauty and charm. In fact, whether we are male or female, we care about the health, shape, color and most importantly the existence of our hair. As in men hair transplantation in women is also important. It is undeniable that our hair completes the integrity of our appearance. The number of people who have hair loss is not less.

Causes of Hair Loss

•        Hair loss can have various causes such as structural,
•        hormonal,
•        hair and scalp diseases.
When hair loss and baldness persist, the person looks for ways to replace their lost hair with new ones. The person tries to remedy this deficiency sometimes with a temporary and highly uncomfortable choice such as a wig or prosthesis, and sometimes by a medical and permanent method like hair transplantation.
Nowadays, when the treatment of full or partial baldness is concerned, the only valid and permanent treatment method is hair transplantation. Hair transplantation is a process with a history of more than 20 years in our country and in the world. The experience gained over the years has increased and the techniques in this field have been improved.

Hair transplantation techniques have come to a point where everyone who is interested in this subject is very well informed. Where the hair is taken from, where the hair is transplanted, how long the transplant process lasted, which conditions were encountered in the post-transplant period... All of these issues are no longer obscure for both the practitioner and the patient.
Now the transfer of knowledge of further and detailed issues such as the naturalness of the front line, how much hair follicle can be taken from the person who is examined, the maximum graft diameters, and how close the angle can be to the natural of these roots during transplantation have become question between the patient and the physician.

The main theme of hair transplantation is not changed. Hair is taken from the nape area where the hair is dense (the area between the two ears behind the head) and is transplanted in the lacking front or top area. However, nowadays, the issues that are important are concentrated on how comfortable the process will be after the transplant and how natural the result will be. Hair transplantation prices depend on the quality and expertise.

There are many factors that make the result natural. The factors that allow the naturalness are the diameter of the grafts taken to be as small as possible, the smallness of the canals opened, and the narrowness of the canal angles, closest to the natural, and transplanting at the narrowest possible angle and with reference to the directions of the current hair of the patient. The interpretation of all these details requires experience. 

The patient who came withhair transplantation request should be evaluated very well. It is important that whether the patient needs it, whether the transplantation can be performed to the patient, and in case of transplantation, if the result will show correlation (proportional compatibility) with the patient expectations.

How Does Hair Transplantation Performed?

Hair transplantation should be performed by specialist doctors and teams under local anesthesia and sedation (It is a method in anesthesia that the relief of the patient is provided by creating a sleepiness. It is used to support local anesthesia.) in operating room conditions. Providing operating room and sterilization conditions is vital.
1.    Grafts are taken one by one from the donor region with a micromotor sharp tip.
2.    When grafting, the smallest possible motor tips must be used. In this way, the grafting area will be prevented from being damaged and natural appearance will be provided in the transplantation area.
3.    The number of grafts that can be obtained is in parallel with the hair density in the donor area and the quality of the hair. In addition, the dark color, thick and wavy hair also affects the result positively.
4.    After the grafting is finished, the grafts are kept in PRP fluid prepared from the patient's own blood using PRP (Platelled Rich Plazma) method.
5.    A part of this cell renewal supporting fluid is injected into the area to be transplanted in order to support hair and scalp after transplantation. The applied PRP speeds up the wound healing and increases the quality of the hair planted and the rate of attachment to the area.
6.    Taking into account the number obtained, the right planning is made for the regions with no hair. The most important point at this stage is the front line. The front line of the scalp is the most important element to give the image of naturalness to transplantation. While this border is being reshaped, the expectation of the person who wants to have unshaved hair transplantation should be learned; however, the correct anatomical rules must be adhered to. The front line drawing of the person should be done according to the age, bone structure and number of grafts obtained, and this line should be adhered to.
7.    The next stage is 'the opening of the canals' in which the transplantation will take place. The canals are opened with a thin tipped scalpel called 'Lateral Slit'. The tips of these slits are specially designed and have the shape feature that they allow to open the canals horizontally. Opening of the canals with these slits allows the hair to be transplanted at close angles to the natural. This feature is one of the factors that will make hair look natural.

PRP Hair Transplantation

Grafts waited in the PRP fluid for a period of time are placed with great care in these canals. When the transplanting is finished, the patient's graft area and the area where the transplantation is done is covered with dressing. The patient is discharged within the same day. After 4 days, the dressing is opened under the supervision of the doctor and the first hair wash is performed. The first washing performed by the health personnel eliminates the uneasiness and thus the patient is correctly experienced. At the end of a 3-5-day wash that the patient will continue to apply at home, the existing small blood clots remove from the environment. On the first day after transplantation, the patient can return to his/her daily life. There is no medically inconvenient for the patient to do his/her job. In positions that require visuality, the person can easily return to work after 3-5 days of rest.

 Hair Transplantation Results

The first 2 months after transplanting, the bodies of the transplanted hair follicles are shedded. From the third month, new hair bodies begin to grow. At the end of the sixth month, new hair is grown in the rate of 70-80%. The rest of the hair, which will complete the 90-99% of the total, grows at the end of the second 6-month period. The patient can care for his/her hair during the period that his/her hair starts to grow, with support products. The hair that has grown continues growing, and perminent by nature.

It is possible to make a second hair transplantation if it seems necessary, and required by the patient, at the end of the first year. Although it is not usually necessary, a second transplantation may be appropriate, as the number of grafts available in some patients is limited. In selected cases, it is possible to reach the number of grafts needed with the use of hair follicles taken from the chest or back part of the body.
Evaluation of all these stages, proper planning and the special application for each patient require technical knowledge and, more importantly, experience.
 
 The person who wants to have hair transplantation process, should evaluate well before preferring the expert staff

• the team's current experience,
• sterility of the ambience that the transplant will be performed,
• whether the operating room conditions are provided,
• whether to receive adequate information and contact support
• during the period of one year after transplanting. All these information are extremely important factors that will increase the satisfaction rate. We are giving service in the FBM Medical Center under the administration of Assoc Prof. Hayati Akbaş.

Can Baldness Be Prevented or Inhibited?

There may be different reasons for baldness; in some material deficiencies (such as vitamin, mineral, enzymatic factor, lack of blood values) , unfortunately male pattern baldness is a genetic feature, there is currently no way to prevent it.