Hair transplant

Main article: Hair

Number of operations

More than 800,000 hair transplants were performed worldwide in 2019, according to a study by the International Society for Hair Transplantation Surgery (ISHRS). Of these, more than 80% were associated with genetic baldness, with the bulk of patients being men and women aged 25-45.

Transplantation Techniques

As Tatyana Kochanova, a representative of one of the Moscow hair transplantation clinics, told Zdrav.Expert, when transplanting hair, there are several methods of removal and several methods of hair placement.

The Ministry of Health of Russia recognized two ways to remove hair: this is a surgical method that uses a scalpel, and a point method that involves the use of either rotary mechanisms or a manual method.

Hair removal is carried out from donor zone. It is considered the back of the patient's head. In men, the donor zone has about 30 thousand transplants. It is 30% thicker than the frontal-parietal. Without compromising the appearance, you can remove 30% by simply leveling the hair density all over your head. Therefore, it will be possible to pick up about 10 thousand transplants from the donor zone.

Removal can be carried out in 3 ways:

STRIP

Aka suture, patchwork or FUT method

How are they seized?

In the FUT method, a flap of skin is cut from the back of the head from ear to ear with a scalpel, and the same long scar remains - about 25 centimeters long and 3 centimeters high.

Pros:

• low cost of the procedure.

Cons:

• a non-aesthetic scar remains;
• the donor zone is reduced;
• during the withdrawal process, 30-35% of follicles are lost, which can no longer be used;
• only 2.5-3 thousand grafts can be obtained from the obtained flap of 25 centimeters, the rest will be damaged;
• headaches after the procedure;
• it is difficult to carry out a repeated transplant procedure, since the donor zone is significantly damaged.

FUE Machine

This is a technique in which follicles are removed by a rotary mechanism with a rotating round tube - a punch.

How are they seized?

The principle of operation is similar to the principle of operation of the drill: the rotary mechanism quickly rotates, removing pieces of skin with follicles, and leaves rounded scars along the diameter of the tube. The work of the FUE Machine includes transplantation using robots. There are robotic mechanisms that have several punches. 6-10 pieces can be attached to one nozzle. With such a nozzle, they remove material from the donor zone.

Pros:

• rapid withdrawal;
• low cost (compared to FUE Hand).

Cons:

• the piercer, due to heating, leaves behind burn scars along the diameter of the tube;
• loss of donor material - up to 70-75%. This is due to the fact that when drilling out a bunch of hair, they burn and damage follicles at the edges. Such grafts will not take root, so they are cut off and grafted;
• rounded scars remain throughout the withdrawal area;
• after the FUE Machine method, most of the donor zone is significantly thinned. Sometimes, in order to increase the number of transplants suitable for transplantation, not even 30% of the donor zone resources are taken, but all 70%.

Atera FUE-100 - FUE Hair Transplant System

FUE Hand

This is a completely manual removal using a micropanch - a microtubule with a diameter of 0.6-0.8 mm.

How are they seized?

From the donor zone, the doctor extracts follicular associations (FUs) using micropanch and tweezers. This method removes not grafts, but follicular associations, because the graft is an artificially cut piece of skin with hair, and the follicular association is a unit ready for transplantation. She no longer cuts and does not share: as the doctor seized her, this is how she will be put. Naturally, hair on the head grows in follicular associations, each of which contains 1, 2 or 3 hair follicles. If the follicular union is crowded and falls into a thin tube as a whole, then it is completely removed. Single it, double or triple.

Single follicles or follicular associations are extracted by a special microtube (micropancer) with a diameter of up to 0.9 mm. Transplantation is carried out using a special tool to a certain depth, repeating the natural direction of hair growth.

This is a simultaneous jewelry work of several surgeons and assistants, allowing to eliminate the 6th degree of hair loss in Norwood within one day.

This is the painstaking work of several people, comparable to the work of an artist, step by step recreating a new look.

Pros:

• loss of donor material is only 1.5-2%;
• wounds when removed and placed resemble punctures from a medical needle. They will heal and leave no trace;
• preservation of the donor zone - at least 30%, as a maximum of 70%;
• any haircut may be worn after the transplant, including a short one;
• transplantation can be done several times, since the resources of the donor zone will allow this;
• no hospital stay required;
• painless needle-free anesthesia may be used;
• complete engraftment. Up to 90-98% of displaced hair follicles later actively grow. Permanent transplanted hair begins to regrow after 3 months;
• after transplantation, there are no swelling of the face and pain syndrome does not develop;
• rapid rehabilitation, short term restrictions in active physical activity;
• absence of complications and side effects.

A non-surgical method of treating baldness, which allows the use of hair from different areas of the body. The main advantage of this procedure is the lack of surgery, which means that patients will not have scarring, only small points are visible that can be compared to a needle injection. They disappear themselves within 3-5 days. The result is natural and visible immediately. There is no rehabilitation period. The natural density of hair and the correct direction of its growth can be called an indisputable plus.

After transplantation, the patient is given recommendations. But there is a list of indications and contraindications, what can and should be done before the procedure, what - after it, and what is categorically not recommended.

It is not recommended to drink alcohol the day before the procedure. This is due to the fact that blood clotting may be worse, as well as the fact that the patient himself may feel worse on the operating table, since no one has canceled hangover syndrome.

If we talk about what is possible and impossible after the operation, then we will highlight the main points:

• being in direct sunlight (1-2 months);
• visiting the bath and sauna (1-2 months);
• visit to the pool (1-2 months);
• gym attendance and heavy projectile classes (1-2 months);
• if you have surgery in winter, walking without a hat is also not recommended. All this has a detrimental effect on hair roots.

Alcohol in large quantities really negatively affects the engraftment and hair growth, so customers are advised to limit themselves, at least for a while, from drinking these drinks.

Cons:

• Higher cost, as withdrawal and staging is done exclusively by hand, without scalpel or rotary mechanisms.

Standard surgery

Standard surgery allows you to create a natural-looking hairline. The undeniable advantage of this approach is that it completely solves the problem of alopecia even with a significant area of ​ ​ baldness. And the disadvantage is the likelihood of developing an infection or purulent inflammation, swelling of the face, which can persist for up to two weeks. Since the operation uses cutting tools, there is a high probability of damage to the nerve endings, which can lead to loss of sensation and numbness of the skin for up to 6-12 months. Also, after surgery, a scar remains.

Many patients who agree to a hair transplant operation are not fully aware: although the operation itself is, in fact, a procedure, it still remains an intervention in the body. And the body in general and the head in particular after the operation must be taken care of so that the result does not really deceive expectations.

Methods of hair placement

There are also 3 ways to put hair

The way all transplants started is by staging with a scalpel. Incisions are made in the receiving zone (staging zone), and grafts are inserted into them with tweezers.

Pros:

• speed of installation.

Cons:

• low hair density per square centimeter: maximum 45 hair (with natural density - 80-120 hair);
• damage to microcapillaries when the scalpel cuts, which leads to poor nutrition or loss of hair that still remained in the receiving zone, and has a negative effect on transplanted hair;
• it is impossible to reach the natural angle of the hair;
• scars on the whole surface of the installation area.

The second type is implant staging. The diameter of the implant is 0.6-0.8 mm, sometimes it occurs 1 mm if the patient's hair is thick.

Pros:

• allows you to achieve natural hair density (80-120 hair per square centimeter);
• after healing, there are no traces of micro-wounds;
• does not injure the staging area;
• implant allows to clamp hair at the required angle. In one movement of the implant, 2 actions take place at once: the skin is pierced and the hair is pushed into the formed hole, after which the skin clamps the follicular union at the angle at which the doctor put the hair.

Cons:

• slower setting speed (compared to scalpel setting).

The last type of production is combined. In this case, the first line of hair growth, so that it looks thicker, is put with an implant, and the rest of the production is performed with a scalpel.

The cost of transplantation and its result depend on the chosen method of withdrawal and staging.

The most careful and minimally invasive way to restore hair is considered an HFE transplant, which combines removal and manual hair placement.

DHI (Direct Hair Implant)

Main article: DHI (Direct Hair Implant)

Risks

Main article: Sepsis (blood infection)

2022

1 million people visited Turkey for hair transplants

Approximately half of the $4 billion in medical tourism revenues Turkey in 2022 came from hair transplant services. This was announced to the Anadolu agency by the head of the Turkish Health Tourism Association (TÜSATDER) Servet Terziler.

"Taking into account the proceeds from hair transplantation in the amount of $2 billion, we can say that 1 million people arrived in Turkey last year to carry out this procedure," said the head of TÜSATDER in January 2023.

According to him, 2022 was very productive for the health tourism sector, as evidenced by revenues of $4 billion. "Foreign tourists are also showing serious interest in spa tourism. Taking into account income in this area, indicators exceeding $10 billion have been achieved, "Terziler said.

However, hair transplantation is the locomotive of general health care services, the head of the association emphasized.

Death of TV worker in India from blood poisoning

In India, one of the top managers of the television industry, Atar Rashid, died after a hair transplant procedure , on December 2, 2022, the [1] medical journal Medical Xpress reported.

Rashid was the sole breadwinner for his family and sought a better life. He decided on a hair transplant, as appearance was his way of making money. All Indian TV's balding chief Atar Rashid wanted was to look beautiful and get married. But the seemingly harmless hair transplant did not go according to plan.

As a result of a hair transplant at a Delhi clinic, he developed sepsis and Rashid died, his mother , 62-year-old Asia Begum, said.

"My son died a very painful death. His kidneys failed and then every other organ failed, "she said  .

Armed with photos showing Rashid's swollen face and black rashes appearing all over his body in the final hours of his life, the family filed a police report.

Four people, including two men who conducted the operation, have been arrested and are awaiting trial.

22 British deaths in 3 years after medical tourism in Turkey

In 2022, the British government updated its travel advice to Turkey and issued a warning to medical travellers as follows: "The term" medical tourism "refers to those tourists who need to undergo medical/surgical/dental treatment abroad. Cosmetic surgery, dental procedures and cardiac surgery are the most common procedures paid for by medical tourists.

The level of healthcare facilities and available treatments vary widely around the world. Therefore, UK citizens considering undergoing treatment in Turkey should conduct their own research; it is unwise to rely on private companies that have a financial interest in arranging your treatment abroad.

We are aware of 22 British citizens who have died in Turkey since January 2019 after visiting medical tourism. If you are traveling to Turkey for a medical procedure, we would advise you to contact the HealthTurkiye portal website to select a health care provider, approved by the Ministry of Health^[1] Affairs^[2].

Notes