Hair Transplants

Effective Hair Restoration That Works And Lasts

Hair loss affects a significant majority of the population. The most common cause of hair loss is androgenetic hair loss, or male pattern baldness, with an equivalent in women. This is genetic and is not due to clogged, oily hair follicles, wearing helmets or mites contrary to old wives’ tales.

In androgenetic hair loss, the male hormone, testosterone, is converted to dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which attacks the hair follicles. This causes shrinkage of these cells, leading to death and loss of hair. This first starts as a receding hair line, then progresses to move backwards, followed by a bald patch at the crown, which eventually gets bigger, with further loss of hair as described by Norwood(see Norwood grading scale).

Physician prescribed medical (topical and oral) medications help by preventing hair loss, and slows down the formation of the culprit hormone. The standard treatment of hair loss for men with androgenetic hair loss is oral Propecia tablets - 1 mg once a day. This acts to suppress the male hormone, testosterone. Testosterone is usually converted to Di-Hydrotestosterone, which is the culprit hormone for attacking the hair follicles on the head, causing a shrinking of the hair follicle, regression, and a cessation of hair growth, eventually leading to hair loss in genetically susceptible individuals. Propecia can only be taken by men, not by women.

A topical application of hair growth/hair loss suppression is Minoxidil 5% hair tonic, which is medically-proven to halt hair loss by opening up ion channels, increasing circulation in the scalp to encourage hair growth. It is a twice-a-day application, and is a lifelong treatment.

Surgical hair restoration is still the most effective way of restoring hair loss. A strip of scalp from the back or the side of one’s head is identified as the donor site for hair transplant. This strip is excised and the donor area is sutured, with an invisible scar that can be hidden by the surrounding hair.

Physician prescribed medical (topical and oral) medications help by preventing hair loss and also slows down the formation of the culprit hormone.

Healthy hair follicles is harvested from this area as follicular unit grafts and transplanted to the areas of hair loss (recipient area). The direction and number of hair follicles are determined prior to the procedure, which is performed under local anaesthetic. Duration of this procedure takes between 3-5 hours. Areas amenable to treatment include the scalp, face (designer stubble/beard/sideburns) and eyebrows.

You can return to work in 2-3 days, and there is minimal discomfort even immediately after the surgery. The success rate of this procedure is unsurpassable at around 90%, and results are very satisfactory with proper care afterwards.

This procedure is suitable for both men and women and is performed by trained physicians only.