Anyone looking to undergo hair transplant surgery should find out all the facts beforehand. You wouldn’t go into another type of surgery without understanding the details, and you should hold hair transplants to the same standard. Speaking with your surgeon can get you all the information you need. The following is a simple outline about hair grafts.
What Is a Graft?
A hair graft is a piece of tissue that bears hair. The graft is what is transplanted into the scalp. They are typically taken from the back and sides of the scalp where hair growth still occurs. This is known as the donor area.
When harvesting grafts, a doctor’s goal is to remove the smallest amount of tissue possible to encourage new hair growth in the balding area of the scalp. The tissues are taken in one of two ways. The first is when an entire follicular unit strip is surgically removed at one time. The second is when each individual follicular unit is removed by itself.
How Many Grafts Will I Need?
The amount of grafts you will need for a successful hair transplant depends on the amount of baldness you’re already experiencing, how thick your existing hair is, and what your desired outcome is. Your surgeon will take an in-depth look at your scalp and the donor area to determine how many grafts will be required. Some transplants take up to 4000 grafts, while others require fewer. If you have very thick hair there may not be as much tissue required. If your existing hair is quite thin, your transplant may require more.
Do All Grafts Survive?
During the harvesting process, it’s imperative that the surgeon takes proper care of each graft so they survive the transplant. They need to be properly hydrated, in the right temperature, and given adequate oxygen supply. In these ideal conditions, the grafts should survive the surgery just fine. Because transplantation is a fairly quick procedure, the shock of it generally only causes loss for a few weeks to a few months, after which the hair will begin to grow again.
Get Started Today
If you are considering hair loss surgery, you may have learned a lot already, but it’s always a good idea to contact a professional with any questions you have. Understanding what a hair transplant graft is and how many are required for your surgery can help you in understanding what the surgeon is doing and why. Contact a hair transplant doctor, like a hair transplant doctor in NYC, today for a consultation.
Thank you to the office of Dr. Robin Unger for their insight into hair transplant grafts.