How Long Does A Hair Transplant Last?
How long does a hair transplant last?. The interventions hair implants are the most effective and durable to solve the problems of alopecia treatment in patients fit for surgery. Therefore, a specialized surgeon must evaluate the condition and characteristics of alopecia in each patient to indicate the best treatment. The type of alopecia, the genetic load, and the presence of skin pathologies that contraindicate surgery must also be studied.
Also, the donor area must be assessed and analyzed if it is suitable; that is, it is not damaged. All these factors must be studied by the surgeon to know the possibilities of each patient and thus guarantee the best results after hair implant surgery.
The hair implant is maintained throughout life
In this sense, the capillary micrografts are maintained throughout life, since, when performed with follicular units of the patient, there is no possibility of rejection once implanted and adapted to the recipient area. This occurs because the selected hairs from the donor area, on the back of the head, are genetically coded so as not to suffer from alopecia, so they will not be miniaturized.
However, it must be remembered that the possibilities of each patient, the number of viable follicular units to be transplanted, as well as the number of hair grafts that can be performed, must be previously evaluated and designed by the surgeon. In this process, a densitometric study of the number of hairs per square centimeter in the patient’s scalp and the knowledge of the possible causes that have caused the hair loss are necessary to identify possible pathologies that cause hair loss.
Once the intervention is planned and designed, the medical team, with the use of local anesthesia and state-of-the-art surgical instruments, selects the most appropriate follicular units through a delicate process of unitary micro-cuts and extraction so that they are not damaged. This ensures that the selected follicular units are in optimal conditions to implant in the patient’s receiving area.
Depending on the number of follicular units to be grafted in the area suffering from alopecia, it is usual for hair graft surgery to last between half and a day.
Due to the thoroughness of the entire procedure, hair graft surgeries require great professionalism and specialization of the whole medical team. Specifically, hair implants are a minor surgical intervention that uses local anesthesia, so even though there are no risks for the patient, multiple conditions must be taken into account.
So does the transplanted hair fall out?
Transplanted hair is considered to be definitive hair. However, it is also true that, like the non-transplanted hairs on the rest of the head, are gradually lost due to aging, some transplanted hair is also not foreign to this natural process and can also occur over the years.
In this sense, it is estimated that a small percentage of the transplanted hairs will be lost due to aging, although the dynamics of fall is much lower than that of the hair of the anterior, upper and crown areas, which as we have commented at the beginning are under the influence hormonal and genetic.
The telogen effluvium, shedding, or shock loss, after a hair transplant, is a transitory circumstance caused by stress with which you have to be patient and wait a few months, during which in some cases, Doctors can apply a PRP treatment in the area with telogen effluvium.
Always to convey the highest possible safety to the patient, obviously concerned about their hair restoration process, we would like to end by remembering that hair loss caused by alopecia has nothing to do with the hair effluvium that may occur after a hair transplant.
The effluvium in transplanted hair is the fall of the hairs that can occur in the first weeks after the hair transplant as a result of the post-surgical trauma to which we subject them with the entire process (extraction, preparation, and implantation). Once it enters the resting phase, a new anagen or growth phase begins from approximately the third month of the hair transplant. From here, the grafted hair continues to develop its hair cycles normally.
In conclusion: the transplanted hair does not fall out.
How is the hair graft carried out?
The first phase is the personalized evaluation by specialized medical personnel of the patient’s specific case. From this, the areas in which the implant is necessary and the ideal donor areas to extract the hair follicles will be delimited.
This evaluation includes taking photographs from different angles to check the evolution of the treatment.
Once the donor areas are delimited, local anesthesia will be applied, which will avoid pain and discomfort during the intervention.
The hair in the donor area is totally or partially shaved to facilitate the entire process. If the patient wishes, the shaving will not be complete, or it will be camouflaged with “curtains” for better aesthetic results until it grows again.
In the case that it is a woman, this can be easily camouflaged thanks to the upper locks.
The follicular units are extracted one by one. Each of them can contain several hairs, something that depends on the quality and density of each patient’s hair. The amount of resulting implanted hair will depend on it.
The extracted follicular units are stored in optimal conditions so that they are kept in perfect condition. This is achieved by maintaining a certain level of hydration and temperatures.
After extraction, the patient will be able to rest to subsequently start the second phase, which consists of the implantation of the follicular units in the receiving area.
The implantation is carried out by a specialist doctor who will locate each follicle one by one, taking into account the most suitable inclination and depth for each case.
After finishing the intervention, the medical staff will explain in detail all the post-operative care that must be followed to guarantee the success of the procedure.
When will I see results after the hair transplant?
From the eighth day after implantation, the follicles will be fully fixed, and after two weeks, you will be able to lead a completely healthy life.
It is important to note that between the third and sixth weeks, there will be a hair loss in the transplanted area that can reach 80%. This is a NORMAL phase, and it should not worry us since the follicle is in perfect condition and will lead to the birth of healthier and more vigorous hair.
From the sixth month is when a very noticeable growth of the hair is observed, a phase that will last until approximately the year, date in which it will have reached its maximum volume.
During all phases, your doctor monitor the entire process to verify that it has been successful.
Is the hair graft procedure painful?
During the extraction and subsequent implantation of the follicles, anesthesia is applied locally, completely desensitizing the scalp, making it a painless treatment.
References:
- Hair loss treatments. (2016).
- my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/hair-implants
- Mayo Clinic Staff. (2018). Hair loss.
- mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hair-loss/basics/definition/con-20027666
- Dua A, et al. (2010). Follicular unit extraction hair transplant.
- ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21031064
