Hair Transplant Procedure in Humans.

Hair loss can make anyone feel unsafe and embarrassed, hair loss is often described particularly to add beauty to the female gender, it becomes a problem when those who greatly cherish their hair begin to experience sudden hair fall out. I know of people who would normally love to shave their hair completely and may not even notice the presence of a hair fall out as they shave it off completely as soon as it grows, but unfortunately, the case is not true for everyone as there are people, who would never stand a thing happen to their precious hair without making a move to save it. There are different reasons behind hair loss and different process to the fall out of hair loss, the determination of the category of hair loss process happening to your hair is highly dependent on the manner at which it falls off.

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The process of hair fallout is highly dependent on;

• If the hair falls out in a gradual or an abrupt manner.
• Always requires treatment to regrow.
• When there is a need for immediate care, to prevent permanent hair loss.

Possible reasons behind hair loss.

Age Factor: At a particular age, hair naturally begins to experience slow growth, at this stage, the hair around the hair follicles completely stops growing, causing the hair on the scalp to thin, at this point, the hair also begins to lose color and when it happens to female's the hairline begins to recede naturally.

Hereditary : When hair loss is hereditary, it is not a gender based thing at all, it has a medical term called; androgenic alopecia, this describes an inherited gene that makes it possible for hair follicles to shrink and stop growing eventually. When hair loss is hereditary, it could either begin to display action at an early stage or wait until an older age.

When hereditary hair loss happens to the female gender, the first noticeable sign is, a receding hairline or a bald spot at the top of the head, in a female gender, the first sign that is noticeable, is a receding hairline or a bald spot at the top of the head.

Childbirth/Illness: Some women experience hair loss after childbirth or after recovering from an illness, anything creating intense stress like a divorce process or an emotionally draining condition can also lead to hair loss occurrence.

Alopecia areata: This is a condition that happens when an immune system attacks hair follicles, creating hair loss. Hair loss can happen at any part of the body which includes the scalp, the ears, the nose, it can even get to the extent of affecting the eyebrows or eyelashes.

Hair care procedure: Every form of hair care procedure resulting in the damage to hair follicle (not necessarily intentional), would result in hair loss.

Hairstyling The method chosen to style our hair can also contribute to hair loss, consistently tying our hair firmly in a backward manner, could result in hair loss, the medical term to describe this occurrence is traction alopecia.

Cancer: After a complete chemotherapy or radiation section, the chance of loosing hair within a few weeks of starting treatment is highly possible.

Hormonal Imbalance: Hormonal imbalance is common amongst women, and when there is a case of hormonal imbalance, there is hair thinning on the scalp. A very common type of this hormonal imbalance is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), when some type of birth control pills are stopped, hormonal imbalance is likewise created.

Scalp Psoriasis: Scalp psoriasis is a common skin disorder, with different outlooks on different skin types, it happens when the immune system sends a faulty signal and cells grow extremely fast.

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Infection of the scalp: When the scalp is infected, it causes serious inflammation, at this point, small black dots on the scalp may be experienced.

Medication: There are some type of medication that leads to hair loss, either when we start taking these medications or when we abruptly stop the intake of the medication, we may have to speak with a medical expert about the experience.

Hair pulling act: It has become a habit for some people to pull their hair, either for pleasure or to relieve stress, sometimes this is done unknowingly, and it is medically called trichotillomania.

Sexually Transmitted Infection: An untreated case of certain sexually transmitted infection, could result in hair loss. The hair loss can affect the eyebrow, scalp, bread and other regions where hair is present, an example of such STI case is Syphilis.

Poison: There is a possibility of been poisoned slowly even without the knowledge of the person who is being poisoned, hair loss is one of the signs of consuming a poisonous substance, some examples of such poisons are; mercury, lithium and arsenic.

Thyroid disease Some of those with a thyroid disease causes hair loss, in a case where thyroid disease is the cause of the hair loss, when it is treated, the hair loss stops as well.

Consistent friction: When there is consistent friction against the socks, tight clothing and socks, there is loss of hair, the medical term for this occurrence is frictional alopecia.

Now, we know the possible reasons behind hair loss, when some of these conditions happen, there are people who lose their hair for a very long time causing a strong need for hair transplant. The procedure of hair transplant is that in which, a plastic surgeon or a dermatological surgeon, moves hair to the area of baldness. It may take several surgical procedures to attain a level of hair fullness, with a recommended healing process in between. After a successful grafting session, the scalp will be cleansed and appropriately covered with a gauze, which may warrant you to put on a pressure bandage for one or two days.

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Hair transplant can be performed in different ways using several method and several means to achieve expected result; Grafting, scalp reduction, flap surgery and tissue expansion.

Micrograft Hair Transplant: Also known as follicular transplant, is an aesthetic technique used for fixing the scalp with patient's own hair, in areas where there tend to be an excessive hair loss, patient's own hair is used to help attain a more natural result, and it is performed under local anesthesia. Micrografting as a hair replacement option, is more common amongst men who are experiencing baldness or loosing hair, women who are loosing lots of hair are also not left out, patients who have alopecia, those who have gone through chemotherapy or radiotherapy, as well as people who simply want to just increase the volume of their hair.

The main techniques used for micrografting procedure include;

• FUE (Follicular unit extraction), this is the use of a punch to extract an individual follicle, without leaving behind any linear scar.
  or
• FUT (Follicular unit transplantation), this method extracts a thin, and a linear strip of follicles from the side or from the scalp.

Flap Surgery: Often recommended when there is a large scalp region to be covered close to the scalp. Flap surgery would have the surgeon making superficial cuts around three sides of the donor, the fourth side remains firmly attached, enabling the original blood supply, using this technique for hair transplant, helps the surgeon cut the flap and then lift it over the bald regions.

Tissue Expansion: This hair transplant option is usually recommended to those who have lost their hair due to burns. The expertise of a reconstructive surgeon is used for an implantation under the scalp, where the hair is and then shaped in the form of a balloon, it is called a tissue expander. After a long time, the expander gets inflated to stretch the skin, this ushers in the surgeon to proceed with the second procedure that will cover the bald area with the help of a stretched skin.

When a hair transplant is appropriately done, it should be permanent, and it should last for a lifetime, there have been a high rate of recorded success, up to 90-95% success rate.

Having a hair transplant regardless of it's high success rate also come with certain risk;

• There is nothing felt on the scalp.
• Infection.
• Allergic reaction to anesthesia.
• Extreme loss of blood.
• Scarring

Do not panic when there is experienced hair loss after a surgical procedure, this happens as a result of the body getting used to the new hair follicle, leading to a temporary hair loss around 8 weeks after surgical procedure, which will stop after sometime. In order to be fit for the procedure,

• The individual has to be in good health.
• Make only realistic expectations about the expected result.
• Still have regions where there are thick growth on the scalp.

After what may seem like a successful hair transplant procedure, however, when you notice any of these signs, please make sure to visit the doctor as soon as you are;

• Experiencing excessive bleeding from the scalp.
• Severe pain or severe redness on the scalp.
• That redness that does not look like would go away.
• When a green or a yellow pus is oozing from the cuts on the scalp, it is a possible sign of infection.

Conclusion.

When other hair growth options are not working, hair transplant, is the suggested option in so many cases. Since there are available hair transplants, sourcing for a skilled professional to handle is highly significant, always consider the cost of treatment as well,and of course, the time it takes to progression.

References.

https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/hair-loss/causes/18-causes

https://www.topdoctors.co.uk/medical-dictionary/micrograft-hair-transplant

https://www.plasticsurgery.org/cosmetic-procedures/hair-transplantation-and-restoration/procedure

https://www.healthline.com/health/hair-transplant#recovery

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/21519-hair-transplant