Be Aware of Hair Transplant Risks and Side Effects



Posted: Wednesday, May 20, 2009

by
greyhairloss

The available medical options for reversing hair loss hair in people suffering from hereditary forms of baldness are limited to relatively few products with most of them being effective only in the early stages of baldness. Once you have lost a big portion of hair due to hereditary factors or an accident, such as a burn, the only remaining option is to replace the missing hair. Your options can be either of a temporary nature, such as the use of hair pieces and hair loss concealers, or a permanent surgical solution. Hair transplantation happens to be the most effective way of surgical hair replacement and the only permanent solution that offers satisfactory results.

Hair transplantation consists in transplanting your own hair from the back of your scalp to the frontal bald area. The key limiting factor of hair transplantation is the shortage of donor hair and, therefore, many patients do not make a suitable candidate. The ideal hair transplant candidate should have a high hair density in the back of the scalp, his hair should be wavy and thick, his scalp flexible and the contrast between the colour of his hair and scalp should not be too great, and he must be in good physical condition. Women usually suffer from a diffuse form of hair loss and, hence, do not make very good hair transplant candidates. Hair transplantation also cannot be performed on patients suffering from unpredictable forms of hair loss such as alopecia areata.

Given the chronic shortage of donor hair, the hair transplant surgeon must be able to utilise the little hair he can use to create the optical illusion of a full head of hair. This happens to be the biggest risk in hair transplantation, as it can sometimes happen that the patient does not like the final result. Although you can always arrange for another hair transplant session, some damage can be irreparable. Other risks and side effects occurring during and after hair transplantation include excessive bleeding and scarring, the lengthy healing of wounds, the transaction and eventual death of many implanted hair follicles, post transplant shock hair loss, which, though largely temporary, can affect your newly-implanted hair as well the hair in the donor area, scalp numbness and tension and the further progression of hair loss post surgery, which can lead to unnatural patterns of baldness. In one recent study, which examined the experiences of 425 hair transplant patients who had undergone 533 hair transplant procedures in total, it was determined that about 5% of the patients experienced complications either during or after surgery.

Hair transplantation can cost ten thousand dollars and more, depending on the technique used, the location and reputation of the clinic, the extent of hair loss and the number of hair transplant sessions needed to achieve the desired effect. However, sometimes it is impossible to estimate the final cost, which is another risk you take when deciding on hair transplant surgery. Given the pain, time and cost involved, it pays to educate oneself prior to signing up for hair transplant surgery. The hair transplant industry is a fast-growing sector and the quality and affordability of hair surgeries are improving, so do not let anybody push you into hasty uninformed decisions.

You can learn more about the factors affecting hair transplantation and how to find a great hair transplant surgeon by visiting GreyHairLoss.com, a website dedicated to educating the public on treating early hair loss and premature grey hair. You can also use this website to share your own experiences with grey hair and hair loss remedies and therapies you have used in order to recommend treatments you have found effective.

This Article has been viewed 107 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.