Hair Restoration
More than half of all men and women will experience hair loss at some point. Everyone sheds and re-grows hair on a daily basis, but when more hairs are shed than grow back the result is hair loss. The primary cause of hair loss is genetics. The four different types of hair loss are androgenic alopecia, traumatic alopecia, drug induced alopecia and alopecia areata. Traumatic alopecia is hair loss due to a trauma to the affected area, such as a surgical scar or an injury to the area that has caused the hair not to grow in that area anymore. Drug induced alopecia is due to medications such as chemotherapy that cause the hair to fall out. Alopecia Areata is a disease state when the hair can fall out in spots or all over the body. Androgenic alopecia is the most common type of hair loss, often called male pattern baldness and is found in both men and women. It is the most easily treated type of hair loss.
Depending on the reason for the hair loss, illness, genetic or medication induced, there are several procedures that can maintain existing hair or restore hair. Medications can be used to restore and maintain hair loss. Propecia® or the generic finasteride is a daily pill that can only be taken by men. It ceases the progression of hair loss and maintains the remaining hair by blocking a substance called dihydrotestosterone or DHT, as long as the pill continues to be taken. It has been reported to cease hair loss in 60% of men taking it. Minoxidil or the brand name Rogaine® is a topical treatment used for maintaining existing hair and has been reported to regrow hair in 50% of both men and women. With both of these treatments, if the treatment is stopped then hair loss will likely occur to the new growth as well as the hair that was maintained by taking the medication.
The only permanent solution for hair restoration is hair transplantation. The process involves hair being removed from an area of the head that is genetically programmed not to fall out. This area is called the donor hair and is usually found on the sides and lower back of the scalp. A strip of hair is removed and then sutured together to form a thin scar. The scar generally will not show, as the existing hair will cover this area. The tissue that has been removed is then dissected into micrografts and follicular units. Micrografts are 1-3 hairs and follicular units are groups of hair that grow naturally together. Both are very small. The surgeon makes tiny incisions on the scalp into which the dissected hair follicles are then inserted. Since the scalp is so vascular, a tiny blood clot is formed around the hair follicle, feeding it and the healing process begins. The hair then “takes root” in its new area on the scalp and will begin to grow after a few months. Since this hair is genetically programmed not to fall out the hair is permanent. Usually more than one surgery is needed to achieve the desired result and cost for the surgery can range from $2,500 - $10,000 nationally. Each procedure can take from 2-5 hours to complete and the transplanted hair will continue to grow throughout the life of the person.
Additional treatments for hair restoration can include wigs or hair pieces, scalp rotation and scalp reduction (bald tissue is removed thereby making the bald area smaller). |
