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The process of losing hair is a natural occurrence. We normally lose about 40-200 hairs daily. Our hair starts to thin out when the lost hairs out number the regrowth of the follicles.
There are multiple causes of hair loss, the most important being hereditary (genetic). This means that every hair follicle has its life course predicted from the time we are in the womb. Other causes are hormonal, stress, scarring after scalp trauma, bad nutrition and medications.
Male pattern baldness starts at different ages and areas of our head, most commonly in the crown and/or temples and frontal hair line.
A female's hair loss is more of a generalized thinning of the hair affecting the whole scalp. All persons are possible candidates for hair restoration.
The one important factor is the donor area, Occipital (back) and temporal areas (sides) of each candidate. The reason why the hair is taken from the Occipital or temporal areas of the scalp is that these hairs will not fall in our lifetime. If you see persons in their eighties or nineties, they usually have hair in the occipital and temporal areas. It is very rare to see complete baldness unless there is some type of medication or illness behind it.
Transplanted hair is for life. The mini (3-4 hairs) and micrografts (1-2 hairs), (1-1.75 millimeters) is the newest hair transplant procedure used. Several hundred to over a thousand grafts per session are placed. The usage of mini and micrografts provides each patient with a natural look, which is the most important aspect of this procedure.
THE PROCEDURE Hair transplants are generally done with local anesthesia. The session takes an average of 2-4 hours depending on the number of grafts used. The first consultation involves a complete history of the medical and hair condition of the patient. Each patient is evaluated in a unique way. All aspects of his/her hair are evaluated: donor area, recipient area, combing styles, how many grafts and/or sessions are needed to achieve each patient's goals. What is transplanted is the follicle, which is from where the hair grows this is inside the skin of our scalp. It is the follicle that has the genetic information of not to fall. We could transplant this follicle to any place in the same patient's body and it will grow.
The procedure involves harvesting the grafts from the donor area (strip of hair) and placing them were they are needed (frontal hairline, crown area). The donor area is washed, outline and trimmed. Next the local anesthesia is applied and the grafts are harvested. After harvesting, the donor area is sutured. The donor area is invisible since it is covered by your hair and the suture line is very thin. The next step is the cleaning and preparing of the mini-micro grafts for insertion into the recipient sites. The recipient area is anesthetized and then the grafts are placed in the normal direction that hair grows. After the grafts are inserted a bandage is placed over the scalp. This dressing is removed on the morning after the procedure. The dressing is to keep the area clean and all the grafts in place for a few hours.
POSTOPERATIVELY The patient is seen the day after the procedure to remove the dressing and have a shampoo. After combing their hair they are ready to go home or work. The first 6-7 days after the procedure the patients are asked to restrain from strenuous physical activities (jogging, playing sports ), they are not allowed to go to swimming pools or the ocean for 15 days. He/she can start to do all his/her desk work, or light activity the second day. On the 8th postoperative day the sutures are removed. A scab will form over each transplanted graft. All the scabs will fall off by themselves around the 10th postoperative day. Transplanted hair starts to grow around the second month after the procedure at 1 centimeter per month for the rest of the patient's life. Once the hair starts to grow it can be treated as your normal hair cut, wash, and comb it. This is for life.
Hair transplant procedures in the USA cost about $10,000. In Costa Rica the costs are much lower - probably because of the lower overhead costs for medical services in general.
Low airfares and budget-minded, luxury accommodations and excellent medical care are huge selling points. A hair transplant procedure in Costa Rica will cost about $2000. Airfares run about $149 - $520, depending upon the season and point of departure. Surgical Recovery Retreats that cater to plastic surgery patients run anywhere from $45 a day to $85 a day and include meals and transportation.
Another big selling point is privacy. No nosey friends or family around asking questions. Everyone at the Recovery Retreats is there for the same reason, so there is no finger-pointing, only a supportive, caring and restful atmosphere.
For more information go to www.PlasticSurgeryTravel.com
Be well always, Stephanie Sulger, RN,MS
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