Hair Transplant

 

The hair is not termed as our crowning glory for nothing. No other beauty standard had been as constant through generations as a long silky mane for women. Over the years, different hair styles have come and go but the classic healthy long hair with volume had always been a main stay. Most of us spend thousands of dollars on salons just to make sure our crowning glory maintains its luster.

Unfortunately, not every one of us will be lucky to have healthy hair all throughout our lives. At some point, some of us experience excessive hair loss due to a number of reasons.

Alopecia, or hair loss, happens to both men and women regardless of age due to several factors ranging from genetic to drugs. Hair growers had been made available over the counter to remedy this problem but most of these drugs are not as effective as a hair transplant procedure.

 

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE LOSING TOO MUCH HAIR?

All people with healthy volume of hair have about 100,000 to 150,000 hair strands at any given time. Normally, we lose about 50-100 of it per day due to activities such as brushing the hair or removing a ponytail, or just running our fingers through it.

If you notice that you are losing more than just the normal amount of hair or if you feel some bald spots on your scalp and see clumps of hair falling off when you shower or style your hair, it may be time to visit your doctor. Though excessive hair loss can be caused by several factors, it may also be due to a more serious health issue.

If you are concerned with the amount of hair you are losing but you are not quite ready to see a doctor yet, you can perform a simple test by taking about 60 hairs between your fingers then pulling them out. Usually, 5-8 strands of hair will come out, and this is normal, but if you see more than 15 hair strands, then you should really see your doctor.

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF EXCESSIVE HAIR LOSS?

There are several causes of hair loss that researches have pointed out but the most popular and common causes are the following:

·        Telogen Effluvium: A phase that usually occurs after pregnancy, a major surgery, excessive weight loss, or basically after a drastic health change. It can also be the side effect of certain medications like anti-depressants or beta blocker. Though there is no definitive test for this condition, your doctors will usually look for a “club-shaped” bulb on the areas of fallen hair roots. This bulb suggests that the hair has already gone through a complete cycle and that cycle was sped up.

·        Genetics: Probably the most common cause of hair loss especially among men, genetics or androgenetic alopecia usually starts with the thinning of the hairline. The condition may start as early as on the patient’s 20’s and it may involve diffuse thinning where in it spreads on the entire scalp. During the earlier stages of this condition, medicine such as Rogaine, may be prescribed for use to slow the hair loss down.

·         Hormones: Hormonal changes such as hypothyroidism, onset of menopause, abrupt discontinuation of birth control pills, and pregnancy.

·        Medications: Certain drugs that are used to treat some existing health problems such as cancer medications, arthritis, heart disease, and antidepressants can cause periodical hair loss. Though hair will grow back once the medications are stopped, this will take time.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO STOP HAIR LOSS?

Depending on the cause of the hair loss, several non-surgical treatments are available at Yoskarn Clinic such as:

1.    Oral hair growth promoting tablets.

2.    Topical hair growth stimulating shampoo and tonic

3.    Mesotherapy for hair stem cell stimulation

4.    Autologous PRP-growth factor injection therapy

     Hair Root Stem Cell

In cases when hair loss is already severe, the only option left will be hair transplantation.

 

WHAT IS HAIR TRANSPLANTATION?

Hair Transplantation is a surgical procedure that involves harvesting your own hair follicles, usually at the back of the head, and transplanting it to other areas where there is lesser volume of hair present. Depending on the extent of the procedure or the number of follicles that will be transplanted, the procedure can take from 4 to 8 hours.

At Yoskarn Clinic, we offer 2 techniques for hair transplantation, one is the Strip Harvesting, and the other is the Follicular Unit Extraction.

Strip Harvesting involves removing a strip of scalp tissue usually at the back of the scalp. This strip is then cut into small pieces of tissue called grafts and then transplanted to the recipient site where the hair volume is already thinning.

This is the older form of hair transplant that is more invasive than Follicular Unit Extraction. Strip harvesting may possibly leave a fine scar on the area where the hair was harvested which is usually not visible due to hair coverage. However, currently, we employ a technique whereby the hair will grow on the scar so that the scar will no longer exist in most cases.

Body hairs cannot usually be harvested using the strip method due to the large area that needs to be removed to gather the amount off hair that may be needed. A touch up may also take longer giving time for hair to grow back again to increase hair density.

Recovery for this surgery usually takes about 2 weeks, and the procedure will require suture removal or staple removal depending on what your surgeon will use.

Strip Harvesting is more economic that Follicular Unit Extraction in terms of cost but the recovery is also quite longer and the surgery is a little more risky.

For Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) on the other hand, is the latest hair transplantation technique that involves harvesting 1-4 hair groupings (follicular unit grafts) via a round pouch method of extraction. These follicular units are then transplanted to the recipient site of lesser hair volume.

FUE is the less invasive option for hair transplantation since each harvested site is as small as 1mm and no suturing will be necessary. Post-operative discomfort will also be significantly lesser than strip harvesting and recovery time will be faster but the surgery itself will be more time consuming.

WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT AFTER HAIR TRANSPLANTATION?

After your hair transplant procedure, whether you did strip harvesting or FUE, some pain and tenderness on the scalp may be felt but this is normal. A surgical dressing will be used for your head for the first few days up to a week depending on the extent of the surgery (amount of graft and area covered).

In 2-weeks time, some of the transplanted hair will normally fall out but this is also normal because not all of the transplanted hair will actually grow. It may take 3-4 months before you notice new hair growth and about 6-9 months before you can start to appreciate the result better.

You may undergo a period when you think your hair is becoming thinner or that you are especially 2-3 months after your hair transplant, but this is a natural phenomenon to give way to the growth of your new hair.

Numbing or Tingling sensation on the donor and recipient sites is normal after the surgery but you should always remember to refrain touching the areas to avoid infection.

Hair growth stimulating formulations will also be prescribed to facilitate faster hair growth after the surgery and to maintain or prevent future hair loss.

WHY SHOULD YOU CHOOSE OUR CLINIC?

For Hair Transplant surgery, Yoskarn Clinic works with a group of hair transplant specialist along with our team to make sure we give the best result to our patients. Proper guidance is also provided to all patients who had undergone the procedure to ensure the success of the hair transplant.

Aside from this, we also have an affiliate hotel where our patients can stay during their recovery period. Aphrodite Inn, a hotel sitting just beside our clinic, provides our patients with extra care by allowing them to use an adjoining door leading straight to our center. This also gives our patients extra privacy during their consultations and follow ups.

Since the hotel is close by, our nurses and surgeons can visit patients, especially during the first post-operative days on regular basis, so instead of coming to us, we will be coming to you. The hotel staffs will also be ever present to provide assistance and room service anytime.

Patient’s companions are also allowed to stay with patients during their stay in the hotel. Guests enjoy the same privilege as the patients with complimentary breakfast and the use of other amenities.