Fox News recently ran a piece on hair restoration losing its stigma and increasing in popularity. Hair transplant surgery is the only way to actually increase the number of hair follicles, and through a variety of methods, involves extracting follicular units from a dense are of the back of the head and then transplanting them to thinning areas in the scalp or face. Combination therapies are common and often include medication and low laser light therapy to enhance the results of hair transplant surgery.
It’s reported that hair transplant surgery has increased 27% just since 2012 and that the increase may be due to the number of celebrities undergoing this procedure. Though they may not come out and say it, it’s certainly easy to compare recent photos with those of years past that show receding hairlines and thin scalps are now thicker and fuller. The results are quite amazing and probably help them land important movie roles, endorsement deals, and other opportunities to expand their careers. Whether or not the transformation gains media attention is of little concern considering the positive impact on their appearance is so high.
Hair transplant surgery techniques have also come a long way in recent years producing much more natural results. Costs have come down as more facilities become specialized in hair restoration surgery. It’s much more feasible for men, and many women, to restore their hair and gain back their confidence.
Techniques continue to improve and become less-invasive. While the “strip-method” has been most common in recent years, “follicular unit extraction” techniques are gaining in popularity. The “strip-method” involves excising a strip of hair from the back of the head to produce grafts and then suturing the scalp back together. This leaves a linear scar on the back of the scalp which is not a problem for men who wear there hair long enough to cover it.
Younger patients, those who prefer short hair, have a tighter scalp or are looking for shorter downtime often turn to follicular unit extraction, where each unit is extracted one at a time to then transplanted to thinning areas of the scalp. There is no linear scar involved but many manual techniques are time consuming and can leave multiple tiny scars where the follicles are extracted. At Utah Hair MD, we only offer NeoGraft for FUE (follicular unit extraction) as it’s an automated hair restoration system that extracts quality grafts in a timely manner and produces a 98% graft survival rate on average.
Choice in technique for extracting the grafts is a personal one that is best to make with your plastic surgeon. It’s important to out way the positive and negative components with surgery that are discussed at your personal complimentary consultation. Then you can do what feels right for you and your situation.
To learn more, visit our hair transplant surgery page or call (801)776-2220 for an appointment.