Hair transplant is a better option to get back lost hair on the scalp than applying creams or oils. Hair transplant is preferred in people who lost hair naturally. If you have lost hair due to an injury to the scalp or have lost hair due chemotherapy or due to any other medical procedure, hair transplant surgery might not be a good option for you.
“Do hair transplants work? Is that permanent or should I be sitting for multiple sessions spanned across years?” is the question many of patients keep asking me, says Dr. Professor Mohan at Flood Gates Plastic Surgery Clinic, Chennai. “I tell that hair transplant is kind of a permanent procedure where in your own hair follicles are transplanted to the bald area of your head and they keep growing like normal hair” adds Dr. Professor Mohan.
Important notes to be made if you are thinking to undergo a hair transplant surgery
- Around 80% of the transplanted hair will grow back within 4 months
- The hair that is transplanted will thin over time, just like your regular hair. So, you can’t expect the same volume/density of hair over a period of time.
- If the source area (of transplantation) has dormant hair follicles, the hair transplant surgery might not be effective. In such cases, plasma therapy is done to help the hair grow fully or better.
Cost of hair transplant surgery in Chennai
You would have seen many ads stating the cost of hair transplant surgery go with the number of grafts. Usually, the cost of hair transplant surgery in Chennai would range from Rs. 1,00,000 to Rs. 2,00,000. This is only an approximation and the actual cost would depend on the following factors:
- What is the area of head that needs transplant
- Experience of the cosmetic surgeon that you are meeting
- The hygienic standards maintained by the cosmetic clinic or hospital.
Why you should not go with cheaper plastic surgeons?
While it is entirely your decision to decide on choosing the best plastic surgeon or cosmetic surgeon for hair transplantation, we would recommend not to look at the cost alone while finalizing on your plastic surgeon. Reason being, even very little less care during the surgery or when unsterilized instruments are used, there is a high probability of getting your scalp infected as a result of which the entire skin in the transplanted area starts swelling and leaking puss. Consequently, the skin on the head dies and falls off leaving a large injury like patch on your skull. This is not a desirable condition as it would disrupt your day to day life until it heals completely and also reverse the entire procedure done.
How is hair transplanting done at our Chennai clinic?
There are two methods on hair transplantation:
- FUT – Follicular Unit Transplantation
- FUE – Follicular Unit Extraction
FUT – Follicular Unit Transplantation
- A large patch of scalp is removed from the source site. (Where the hair follicles are present)
- The patch of scalp is cut into tiny pieces called grafts. The grafts may be so small that each graft may contain only one hair follicle.
- The target scalp area is punctured by making tiny holes.
- The tiny grafts are then implanted into the punctured holes.
- The source site is closed with stitches.
- Scalp is covered with bandage for few days.
FUE – Follicular Unit Extraction
- This is a more micro procedure compared to FUT.
- Each hair follicle is extracted from the source site
- The target scalp is punctured by making tiny holes
- The extracted hair follicles are implanted into the holes in the target area.
- Scalp is covered with bandage for few days.
Recovering after hair transplantation surgery
In either FUT or FUE cases, the source and destination sites need to be taken care until healed. You will be put on pain medication, anti-inflammatory medicines and hair growth medicines that help in growing hair.
You will be advised not to get your scalp in contact with water until complete healing happens. You should avoid direct sunlight for few days and avoid working out for few weeks, if you used to work out regularly.
As with any surgery, there are several risks associated with hair transplant surgery. The complications would go up if your surgeon is not experienced or careful while doing the transplant surgery. There are high chances of infection when instruments that are not properly sterilized are used. Bleeding or pus formation at the site of incision are possible. Loss of sensation on the scalp during healing, continuing to lose hair even after implantation are a couple of other possible side effects of hair transplant surgery.
