FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT HAIR TRANSPLANTATION
It is a medical method in which we transfer healthy hair roots from the zone of stable hair growth (donor area) to the area of the problem (recipient area). Essentially this is a redistribution of healthy permanent hair follicles in the affected area.
As early as the 1930s, Japanese physicians began successfully transferring healthy hair follicles to affected areas of the scalp and body. Shortly afterwards, in 1959, the American pioneer in HT, Norman Orentreich, clinically proved the donor dominance, according to which the transferred hair is not susceptible to the damaging effect of androgens in the recipient area and therefore never falls out.
Of course, modern techniques are not even close to what they were just 10 years ago. The development in the field of hair transplantation is unprecedented by medical standards.
We do not transfer hair but the hair follicles. This is because our hair does not grow hair by hair but in the form of hair follicles, that is, in groups containing a maximum of 1 to 5 hairs. This is the basic anatomical unit in the hair.
Modern hair transplantation transfers follicular units.
We always take advantage of the hair follicles of the fixed hair zone at the back of the head. Over time, donor area techniques have improved dramatically with the use of microscopes on a section of the skin, which is then removed and stitched together using special plastic surgery techniques so that a scar will not be noticeable as soon as you leave our clinic.
We also apply the technique of direct follicular unit extraction (FUE), where each hair follicle is removed separately without the use of sutures.
No. The hair that we take out doesn’t grow back, of course, as we take out the roots. 50% of the hairs in the donor area are available for transfer and this corresponds on average to about 10,000 hair follicles for the usual hair density in each person. The taking of this hair is done in such a way and from areas where no lack of hair will be noticed.
With the technique of trichophytic closure, no scar remains in the donor area, as we force the adjacent hair to grow there. With the Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) technique, the scars created are less than a millimeter and are not visible. In the placement area, all that remains is the new hair, on a perfectly healthy skin.
Yes, the result of a hair transplant is for life. The permanence of this hair is due to the stability of the band we use to take transplants.
Other characteristics that are also transferred to hair transplantation are the texture of the hairs and their color. So when the hair whitens back to the donor area, it will also whiten where we transferred it.
The permanence of the result is one of the biggest advantages of hair transplantation and is a given, but it can also become a problem when the method is applied by inexperienced doctors. For example, a wrong design, which may satisfy someone at 25 years old, will follow him for the rest of his life.
No. They are combed, cut, dyed and nothing special is required for their maintenance.
A crucial point in hair transplantation is the selection of suitable cases. In our center, the diagnostic process includes the selection of the most appropriate treatment or combination of treatments for each individual. At the same time, expectations should be in line with the limitations and indications of each medical treatment.
So, just because you want to have a hair transplant, that is not enough. We must also recommend it to you and, in particular, to inform you fully about the expected result, the proposed design and distribution of the transplants, etc. An informed customer for us is the guarantee for a future satisfied customer.
Yes, when there is no zone of stable hair growth, or when the available donor area is too poor or too small to achieve an aesthetically satisfactory result.
Health reasons are very rare nowadays in the modern era of hair transplantation and are limited only to cases of people who have blood coagulation disorders.
A correct, complete and objective diagnosis will once again give you the responsible answer.
Not at all. It is applied comfortably, with local anesthesia in a friendly and medical environment. Very often, people who start hair transplantation, being particularly stressed, end up sleeping, not because of the medication but because they are relaxed and trustful of the medical team.
It depends on the area we have to cover and the number of hair follicles. We try to keep the duration of the application within reasonable limits, so that the person concerned can integrate it into their daily routine and not end up having inconvenience.
You should be aware that it has been scientifically proven that prolonging the duration of the operation has a negative impact on the survival of the transplants. Therefore, time out of body (TOB) is critical and should be minimized as much as possible with proper management of transplants and human resources.
No. After the procedure you return home, no hospitalization is required. Mainly for legal reasons, we do not recommend you drive when you leave. Gym and other sports activities can be started from the 3rd day after the hair transplant.
Within 7-10 days, both the donor area and the area where the hair follicles are placed are healed. This does not mean, of course, that you have to stay indoors during this time. In addition to fully informing you, we try to make it possible for you to integrate the whole process into your daily routine and not to use up valuable time-off from your work for your rest.
It depends on the type of work and the amount of existing hair. For instance, for someone who has an office job and has enough hair to cover the transplants, no time-off from work is required. If the same person had a manual labor job, three days time-off would be enough.
On the other side, a tier 6 person, i.e. with a formed gap, should be absent from the workplace for a week, if they are interested in the opinion of their colleagues.
Discussing the issue with our doctors and consultants will provide the best solution. However, there has never been a reason to postpone a hair transplantation, as there are always solutions.
The day after the transplantation, the donor area can be washed, and after the 3rd day, so can the whole head. Daily and good shampooing is essential for the cleanliness and hygiene of the scalp, so that healing is completed quickly and new hair can grow as soon as possible.
The hair follicles have small hairs when they are placed for purely technical reasons. Some of them will fall in the next three weeks. Those that remain, the next month will have already grown by one centimeter.
The rest will start to regrow from the second month and the process will be completed in 12 months.
It is a self-transplantation of hair and therefore our body never rejects the transplants. The regrowth rate ranges between 90 – 95% of the placed hair follicles, which is extremely impressive for a medical procedure.
It depends on the number of available hair follicles and the desired density in the coverage area. In general, the density in the placement area is 20 – 25 hair follicles per square centimeter. In special cases, however, we can go up to 35 – 40 hair follicles (dense packing), without compromising the regrowth rate.
Our goal is always to restore or maintain 50% of the hair in an area, as this is what is needed to begin to notice a thinning.
The aesthetically important areas are of more interest, such as the front hairline or the top and we focus on them by creating zones of increased density. In general, spreading the hair follicles in large areas with uniform density usually leads to a uniformly ugly result.
Modern hair transplantation techniques allow us to have different density in different areas, depending on the result we want to achieve in each area. By calculating the surface we have to cover and the desired density, we can calculate, with a simple calculation, the required hair follicles.
It is a purely medical procedure, performed by doctors and nurses who are properly trained.
The operation of medical procedures by non-physicians is illegal and dangerous for patients and should be reported. The same goes for doctors who are not accredited by the relevant medical association.
Look for the doctor who is going to treat your head in the registers of the medical association in the area where they are registered. Specify which medical specialty they have. Unfortunately, this is mandatory nowadays.
Absolutely. It is applied in cases, according to the new terminology, of female pattern baldness with a good donor area, either to cover male-pattern temples and frontal hairline, or for thickening between existing hair after proper preparation, and under special conditions. In general, women account for 1% of all transplantations and a lot of experience is required to perform the operation.
The diagnosis of the type of hair loss in a woman and the selection of suitable cases for transplantation is a very serious and responsible medical act. A special case is the transplantation of eyebrows.
The number of hair follicles that can be placed in one visit depends solely on the number of available hair follicles in the donor area and the size of the existing thinning.
Our medical team has no restrictions and limits on the number of hair follicles. It has the infrastructure and skills to do a hair transplantation of over 5,000 hair follicles, if the conditions are right.
Our aim is to achieve an excellent result even with one visit.
No. It is done on any part of the body where there is a need for coverage with permanent hair. We do hair transplantation to cover scars or burns anywhere on the body. We restore hair deficiencies in sideburns, beards, moustaches, eyebrows, eyelashes. The naturalness of the result and the new techniques we apply allow us to do so.
The result is completely natural and goes unnoticed. The new hair has a perfectly natural growth angle, through a healthy skin. The use of hair follicles and the perfectly controlled growth angle is the guarantee for this.
No. It does not cause headaches or have any other side effects on our body. It is a purely dermal
procedure.
Practically, in most cases, we have a clear picture at 10 months. A year is the limit.
Until then, we have scheduled appointments for you and we monitor the result with skin scans.
Yes. Hair from hair transplantation does not require any special care, which is the main problem of an additive. The naturalness of hair transplantation is not comparable to the stiffness and lack of naturalness that we usually see even in the best additive.
Hair transplantation in people who use wigs requires specialized supervision and good cooperation between the doctor, who must be familiar with the peculiarities of the use of the technician who maintains the additive, so as not to damage the new hair on the one hand, but also to make the transplantation itself easy to integrate into the daily routine of the person.
In general, the additive can be used 4 days after the hair transplantation.
Another application of hair transplantation in people who use an additive is to create a front hairline band in front of it, which will blend in with its design and give it a completely natural look.
No. Hair loss is an evolutionary process that does not stop with hair transplantation. For this reason, special attention and experience is needed in the planning of hair transplantation, in order to meet the aesthetic needs for the whole life of a person and to anticipate the future development of hair loss.
There is no age limit. We have done hair transplants on an 8-year-old child to treat burns, and on men and women in their 70s for their hair loss.
The application of microscopes to the separation of transplants has improved the quality and speed with which the method is applied. Their use is mandatory for a center that wants to specialize in hair restoration.
The extraction of hair follicles in the FUE technique is now done using a special motor and special punches – Power FUE. The use of motor dramatically improves the speed and quality of the extracted hair follicles.
The use of the microscope is mandatory in the FUE technique as well. Although the hair follicles cannot be separated under the microscope, this tool remains valuable in cleaning the hair follicles from the excess skin that accompanies them and is needed for their extraction.
At the same time, digital photography and the digital dermatoscope allow us a comfortable and objective diagnosis and monitoring of the result. These tools are now mandatory for anyone who wants to get serious about the subject.
Of course, all you have to do is ask.
When a large number of hair follicles are placed, with maximum exploitation of the donor area, with placement of hair follicles with a high density which is close to the normal, with the reduction of the required sessions to 1-2 from 4-5 that used to be the case in the past and when an excellent and natural aesthetic result is achieved, which goes unnoticed, without scarring both in the donor and in the placement area.
Finally and most importantly: A successful hair transplantation is one that you like, not us. This means that it meets your needs, it is what you have been waiting for after being openly, honestly and clearly informed.
Only then are we happy with the result.
The techniques of taking and placing the transplants have changed many times in recent years, until modern techniques were established, with a direct impact on the final result.
Unfortunately, there are still doctors and clinics that are either not informed or do not have the capabilities and experience to be modernised, and stubbornly still apply outdated techniques.
You need to be mindful of where you trust your head!
The one that is designed specifically for you. The method that respects the special and unique characteristics of your hair and skin and at the same time aims to meet your needs, and not the only method that the doctor knows how to apply.
But there is not ONE technique that covers all cases, even the most modern one simply cannot be applied to some people.
Because the doctors of our center, having more than 20 years of experience in hair transplantation, apply the technique that meets your personal needs without dogmatism and prejudice.
With the high-value expertise of our core scientific staff as a basis, but also the enrichment of the hair transplantation department with additional doctors and even more advanced equipment, we are able to offer you the best solution at the best price.
The cost varies depending on the number of hair follicles to be transferred, and the technique used to take them out.