Media Appearances
Hair Transportation Surgery
Source: "The Santa Clarita Magazine"
by D. David Saadat, M.D.
July 2004
Recent surgical advances have significantly increased interest in hair replacement surgery in the past decade. The surgery results in a natural-looking, hair bearing scalp without the surgical look of the 70's and 80's. The transplanted hair behaves just like normal hair and can be cut, styled, washed, shampooed and blow-dried.
Hair transplantation is performed under local anesthesia with virtually no pain. While the hair is being transplanted the patient can read, drink, eat and move around if necessary. The latest technique has the following steps: A strip of hair-bearing scalp is taken from the back of the head, the strip is then divided into smaller pieces. Several highly trained technicians by the use of magnification will further divide the smaller pieces into hair shafts. Their hair grafts are called micro-follicular units meaning the smallest graft possible without damaging the hair follicles. These tiny grafts contain, one, two, or three hairs. These grafts are then inserted into tiny slits in the desired scalp area. The grafts must be placed in such a way that the hair all grows in the same, natural direction. There is a significant surgical artistry involved in how to place these tiny slits in the scalp to achieve a natural look. The grafts with one hair are used in the hair line area to prevent the old surgical look of the old transplant techniques. The grafts with two or three hairs are placed further back on the scalp to create more fullness. After the procedure is completed, the patient goes home and rests for the day. The third day after surgery, the scalp can be gentle shampooed.
Most men with male pattern baldness are good candidates for hair restoration surgery. Other caused of hair loss can also be treated with hair transportation. Most female patterns of baldness are also amendable to hair transportation surgery.
