3 Keys You Must Know Before Hair Transplant Surgery

Hair transplant surgery is a cosmetic surgery that is increasing in recent years for both men and women. Why are there more and more people wanting hair transplants? It is mainly related to the increased rate of androgenetic alopecia and abnormal hair loss in modern people, as well as the higher requirements on appearance. Many people are very concerned about the price of hair transplant. Although the price is important, in fact, the most important thing for hair transplant is to understand the principle of hair transplant surgery and find a suitable doctor to complete the correct evaluation. The last key is the doctor's own surgical skills and the whole hair transplant in Kaohsiung. The maturity of the surgical team in the clinic! After all, medical cosmetology is over-commercialized, and it is difficult for the general public to know whether the information in the market is correct or not. The MedPartner team physicians will fully explain the principles of hair transplant surgery in this article, as well as the related advantages and risks. It is hoped that Help all friends who want to have a hair transplant to have a clear understanding before surgery, and will not be deceived by unscrupulous practitioners.

Before hair transplant surgery, you must first determine a few things:

• The reason for hair loss. Certain medical conditions may not be suitable for hair transplantation.
• Conditions of the scalp. There should be enough healthy hair follicles in the donor area.
• Find a skilled physician
• Fully qualified surgical team

The principle of hair transplant surgery is not complicated. It is mainly to transplant the hair follicles in the back occipital area that will not be affected by male hormones and shrink to the forehead or top hair loss area by surgery. It is a kind of redistribution of the existing hair. The concept of , so that the hair loss area has hair follicles again, and hair can grow again. Since the occipital hair follicles are not affected by male hormones, the hair transplanted from the occipital region to other male baldness areas can survive for a long time and will not be attacked by male hormones and fall out. Therefore, patients with androgenetic baldness are usually very satisfied after hair transplantation, because the hairline that has been receding has been saved, and as long as it cooperates with the doctor's treatment, it will not fall out again. Although hair transplant surgery is often effective in improving appearance, it is not suitable for everyone and a complete evaluation should be done before considering surgery.

Who is hair transplant surgery suitable for? Benefits and risks should be fully assessed before surgery Many clinical patients who come for hair transplant surgery may have tried oral or topical hair growth drugs before the actual surgery. At present, the proven effective oral drug is Finasteride 1mg (common trade name: Ropei) taken once a day, and the topical medication is Minoxidil 5% (common trade name: Topical Rojian Hair Growth Liquid) which is wiped twice a day. But whether it is oral or topical drugs, it can only prevent the hair follicles that have not completely atrophied from continuing to degenerate, but it cannot allow hair to grow in places where the hair follicles have died. Translated into the vernacular, it means that if the hair is only in the stage of thinning and weakening, oral and topical drugs can also make the hair thicker and healthier, and make the hairline recede slowly, but if the hair follicles have died. If the area becomes bald, the medicine will have no effect. Therefore, if the patient wants to significantly improve the appearance, make the receding hairline move forward and return to a youthful appearance, or increase the volume of the hair on the top of the head, only the hair transplant surgery can achieve significant improvement. It is also worth mentioning that whether it is topical or oral medication, the effect of improving hair loss on the top of the head is relatively significant, while the improvement of hair loss on the forehead will be relatively poor.

While most hair transplants can significantly improve a patient's appearance, they're not for everyone. The most common clinical patients undergoing hair transplant surgery are as follows:

• Men with male pattern baldness, receding forehead hairlines, or thinning on top of the head
• Women with thinning hair or thinning hair in some areas
• Men and women who want to achieve beauty through hair transplant surgery (sideburns, eyebrows, hairline modification...etc)

Especially in cosmetic surgery, it is more necessary to make the direction, angle and thickness of the hair transplanted as similar as possible to the original hair in this area during implantation, so as to look natural after surgery. Since the transplanted hair is permanent, it can solve the problems of sparse eyebrows and missing corners of the beard once and for all. Although surgery is possible for most people with these problems, physicians must consult a patient carefully before discussing the need for surgery. Usually doctors focus on the following things:

• patient's age
• Patient's family genetic history
• Patient response to oral and drug therapy
• The patient's expectation of the surgical outcome and the degree of cooperation in the postoperative care

Patients with extensive hair loss before the age of 25 usually have a strong family history of androgenetic alopecia. The doctor will ask the patient's father, grandfather, grandfather, uncle, etc. about the hair condition of the patient to find out if the patient has a strong family history of the disease. If it is a patient with a serious family history, the doctor usually recommends using the drug for half a year to a year or so, and there is no need to rush hair transplantation. If the use of oral and topical drugs can achieve control or improvement, then hair transplantation will be a good option, which means that the patient has a relatively chance to maintain the results of hair transplantation. On the contrary, if there is still no way to reduce hair loss under the control of oral and topical drugs, then it is necessary to carefully consider whether to undergo surgery. Because patients with poor response to drugs may continue to lose hair in other parts after hair transplantation, except for the area receiving hair transplantation, which may not be the result that the patient wants. The doctor will decide the number and range of hair transplants based on the response to the drug, and at the same time evaluate whether a second hair transplant may be necessary.

Finally, it is necessary to confirm the patient's degree of cooperation with postoperative care, especially the willingness to continue to cooperate with the use of oral drugs after surgery. Studies have shown that oral medication has a significant impact on the results of postoperative hair transplantation. If the medication can be taken completely, the hair that can be retained will be significantly higher than that of patients who did not take medication or who only took a placebo. In addition, it can also be observed clinically that the hair of patients with oral drugs is usually thicker and healthier.

In addition to the above considerations, the following are common situations that are not suitable for hair transplant surgery:

• Widespread hair loss on the entire head, showing an average sparse state (so there is no way to make up from the dense area to the sparse area)
• Lack of transplantable hair in the donor area (posterior occiput)
• Patients with swollen crab legs (worry about the appearance of swollen crab legs after surgery)
• The patient's hair loss is due to chemotherapy or other special reasons (it may not be possible to maintain the hair transplant results)

If after the evaluation, the patient is considered suitable for hair transplant surgery, don’t forget that although this is a “non-essential” cosmetic surgery, the physician should still conduct a complete consultation so that the patient can obtain sufficient information before making a decision. Usually the physician must first discuss with the patient and provide the following information:

• Where are the areas of baldness or hair loss that the patient is most concerned about?
• Provides all possible hair loss treatments, along with associated benefits and risks
• Provide reasonable post-treatment photos for patient reference

Otherwise, it costs a lot of money, but the results of the operation are too different from the expected, which is often a major factor in medical disputes. No doctor wants the surgery to fail, but with the over-commercialization of medical aesthetics, some unscrupulous practitioners will exaggerate the results of the treatment. Complete communication before surgery is the most important step to avoid medical disputes!