Evolution of hair transplant surgery

Hair transplant surgery dates back to the 1930's and was successfully carried out by Japanese physicians by harvesting and grafting multiple and single hairs into areas of hair loss. These grafts were used to successfully treat lost hair from various parts of the body including the scalp, eyebrows as well as the moustache areas. However, due to World War II after that, the study of hair transplantation could not flourish to other areas of the world, especially to the Western World.

After World War II, hair transplantation again emerged in the 1950's when Dr. Normal Orentreich began to experiment hair transplantation by taking hair from the back and sides of the scalp to use them in balding areas of the scalp. His experiments revealed that hair taken from the donor area was resistant enough to maintain itself in its new place, which was the recipient area. Back in the 1950's hair transplantation surgery was not a refined procedure and people undergoing hair restoration through surgery had to face the corn row or doll's hair look. However, with time, this surgical procedure improved to give a more natural look to patients undergoing hair transplant surgery.

In the 1960's and 70's, hair transplantation grew in popularity, but the same grafting technique continued to be used to achieve results. Large grafts were taken from the donor areas, which were the back and sides of the head to transplant hair towards the front of the scalp. This method limited the styling options available to the hair and did not work in patients who had a limited donor area. It was in the 1980's that hair transplantation surgery made a break through and the large punch grafts consisting of 15 - 25 hairs were gradually replaced by smaller grafts, known as mini and micrografts. These mini grafts decreased in size to about 5 - 8 hairs per graft, and the procedure was then called minigrafting. They still gave an unnatural look, and later evolved into more refined micro grafts which consisted of as little as 1 - 2 hair, to give a more natural and youthful look. This surgical hair restoration procedure is also known as Microscopic follicular unit transplantation or FUT, whereby each follicle is individually transplanted into the area with hair loss.

Today, Follicular-unit micrografting is used for hair transplantation which replaces anywhere between 1 to 4 hairs at a time to areas of the skin experiencing hair loss. It produces a feathered hairline look which is close to the natural look of hair. Hair transplant surgery carried out by an experienced and professional surgeon gives so natural results that even a professional hair stylist will not be able to tell the difference between transplanted and natural hair. Follicular Unit Hair Transplant is now acknowledged as the Gold Standard for surgical hair restoration. It has evolved over the years to relocate hair exactly in the same position as naturally growing hair. Hair transplant surgeons today perform independent hair restoration which uses very tiny incisions that are used to place the hair graft in place on the scalp in the appropriate angle to make it look as natural as possible. Only one session is enough to give the desired results.

Hair transplant through surgery is a painless procedure and has no side effects at all, unlike other medical hair restoration methods such as using over the counter drugs or topical lotions like Minoxidil. Moreover, it gives permanent and long term results, after just one session, so a lot of time is not needed to see results. Usually, the session itself lasts a couple of hours to up to 4 to 6 hours, depending on the number of grafts to be transplanted. For most patients, no second session is required, but post-op care is required to make sure no infection develops on the treated area. Once the procedure is complete, it may take up to a year to achieve the final results, as hair only grows a small amount every month. In the first month, patients experience hair shedding due to the stress the hair had to go through during the surgery. This is a temporary phase of the growth cycle of hair, after which hair starts to grow. In 3 months, most patients are able to see the effect of hair transplantation, which continues to achieve full results in the following months.

This article has been contributed by Sajid Rasheed who blogs on hair transplant in Pakistan procedure. Sajid Rasheed gave Betterchoices Hair full rights to the content of this article.

Sajid Rasheed of Hair Club in Pakistan