Transplants are not a cure for someone suffering pattern baldness, no matter the gender. A transplant will not counteract the effect of hair loss in areas that are bald or that have been bald for quite some time.

If there is little hair on the head prior to the transplant, without the inclusion of medication to regrow hair, the hair transplant length may stay the same and not be stimulated to grow any further.

How Much Does A Hair Transplant Cost in Weyers Cave VA?

Many clinics are reticent to state exactly how much a hair transplant will cost – due in part to the uniqueness of each persons hair loss requirements.

All in all, it is not cheap especially as some patients require a second session to achieve a thicker amount of hair. The cost will vary greatly depending on the following factors:

1. Physician – Who is doing the surgery and their level of experience.

2. The teams’ experience that supports the head physician.

3. Location – Where you get the procedure done, i.e. medical tourism now caters for patients travelling to countries with a lower cost base for hair loss procedures including hair transplants, grafts, FUE treatments etc.

4. The method of hair transplant chosen-

(I) Strip method (on average) – the graft cost is between $3-6 per strip

or

(II) Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) (on average)- as this is a longer process, it is more time consuming for the physician. Consequently the prices are normally double the strip method. The price may vary between $5 – 12 per graft.

A graft is a follicular unit and is how the hair appears in its natural form.

For example, you might have a particular graft that has 1, 2, 3 or 4 haired units. Each one is the same cost.

In terms of an overall price, think of your hand curled up to the size of a fist and place your fist over the spot where there is a bald patch. That space is approximately 1500 grafts.

Often patients will want double the amount, or have a second session to achieve greater density. An estimate for the procedure cost can vary between 3000 and 6000 grafts depending on the desire of the patient for thicker hair density.

Then multiply that by the number of grafts required.

There will be some patients who want a second session to ensure they have maximum coverage. The range is broad and only when you have had a consultation will you know a ballpark figure for your requirements.

Therefor expect an average cost to be between $3000 to $30,000.

History of Hair Transplant

The origins of hair transplant surgery stem from Japanese dermatologist, Dr. Okuda, who in 1939 published a revolutionary method in a Japanese medical journal of using small grafts that were similar to the way hair transplantation is performed today. This method involved using hair transplant grafts to correct lost hair from various body areas, including the scalp, eyebrow, and moustache areas.

In the late 50’s one physician in particular, Dr. Norman Orentreich, began to experiment with the idea of relocating or transplanting the hair on the back and sides of the head to the balding areas. Dr. Orentreich’s experiments showed that when bald resistant hairs from the back and sides of the head were relocated, they maintained their bald resistant genetic characteristic regardless of where they were transplanted.

This principle, known as “Donor Dominance”, established that hair could be transplanted from the bald resistant donor areas to the balding areas and continue to grow for a life time. This laid the foundation for modern hair transplantation. During the 60’s and 70’s hair transplants grew in popularity. However, the standard of care involved the use of larger grafts that were removed by round punches and often contained many hairs.

In the 80’s hair restoration surgery evolved dramatically, as the large punch grafts were gradually replaced with a more refined combination of mini and micrografts. This “combination mini micrografting” hair transplantation procedure no longer used the punch to extract the bald resistant grafts. Rather a strip of bald resistant hair was surgically removed from the back of the head and then trimmed into mini and micrografts.

Types of Hair Transplant in Augusta County

There are two main methods of Follicular unit hair transplant surgery. Follicular unit Transplant commonly known as FUT or ‘strip surgery’ and Follicular unit extraction, commonly known as FUE The main difference is the method of extracting the transplanted hair. FUT and FUE are really complimentary forms of HT, not competing methods of which one must make a choice.

FUT versus FUE

The 90’s saw the gradual introduction of a very refined surgical procedure now known as “follicular unit hair transplantation” or “FUT”. This exacting and labour intensive procedure transplants hairs in their naturally occurring one, two, three, and four hair “follicular unit groupings” in which they grow naturally.

The concept of creating the entire hair restoration using exclusively follicular units was proposed by Dr. Robert Bernstein and was described in the 1995 Bernstein and Rassman publication “Follicular Transplantation”. Critical to the success of the follicular unit hair transplant procedure was the introduction of the binocular microscope by Dr. Bobby Limmer of San Antonio Texas in the late 1980’s.

Dr. Limmer found that by using the microscope to examine the donor tissue he and his staff were able to successfully isolate and trim the naturally occurring follicular units into individual grafts. Dr. Limmer shared his techniques and findings with his colleagues and together with Drs. Bernstein, Rassman and Seager, was a persuasive advocate for the follicular unit hair.

The process involving follicular hair transplants is considered to be the most effective among hair restoration methods. In follicular hair transplant, the surgeon transplants hair from the permanent zone in the back of the scalp onto the affected areas.

Hair Transplants in 24486

If you need a large area covered, then you most likely want to go for FUT because it is the more economical in terms of number of grafts for price paid. If you absolutely, positively don’t want strip surgery as you are worried about scarring, then FUE is your only alternative. Contrary to popular belief, both methods leave scars. FUT will leave a narrow line across the back of your head, whereas FUE will leave little unpigmented dots across the back of your head. The only difference is that the FUE scars are not concentrated together and therefore harder to detect when wearing hair very short.

There is no doubt that FUE procedures are harsher on the grafts than FUT procedures. Because of this the final growth yields tend to be lower for FUE compared to FUT. But BOTH procedures work for the most part.

Alternatives to A Hair Transplant

Other Hair Transplant options include:

a. ‘Scalp Reduction Surgery’ – this involves a local anesthetic followed by a strip of bald skin being cut from the scalp. The scalp is then pulled together across the removed part and stitched to bridge the gap on the scalp.

b. ‘Flap Surgery’ – this involves an extensive hair transplant whereby a large amount of skin tissue from the scalp is primed over a period of time to grow cells. Once the cells have grown, a large part of a bald section of the scalp is removed, to be replaced by the hair that has been primed to grow. Generally due to the complexity of this procedure, a hospital stay for several days may be required.

The transplant itself may take several hours (3-7 hours) and generally, patients return for several treatments to cover the scalp.

A pain-relief treatment plan is provided at the end of the process as the areas where follicles have been removed and then inserted is quite tender and will take time to heal.

It is important to note that there can be challenges during the process, which can include:

Infection – as the skins surface has been interrupted and exposed to the open air, it is important to minimize the risk of germs getting into the open wounds.

Antibiotics are generally prescribed to minimize the likelihood of infection.

Allergic reaction to the procedure or medication.

Bleeding and Scaring – Bleeding is usually contained by a cleanup at the end of the procedure and minimized through careful treatment of the scalp.

There can be scarring as a result of the skin being perforated. The doctor will prescribe a treatment and care plan to minimize scarring.

Nerve damage – where a person may no longer feel any sensitivity or over-sensitivity to the scalp site involved in the procedure.

It is important to remember that this procedure does not guarantee hair growth success and transplanted hair may fall out after several months.

But, the good news is that there are many people walking around with thick full hair, the result of a hair transplant that looks like 100% natural hair growth.