The latest technical advances in hair transplants achieve better results which translates into a higher demand from patients for this type of procedure.
The significance of the follicular unit concept and the all-important role it has on the increased success of grafting involves changes in the techniques used, both for graft harvesting from the donor site and insertion in the recipient site.
There are currently three main techniques used for hair grafting: FUT, FUE and BHT.
Current hair transplant techniques obtain better results
The improved cosmetic result in the donor site when using the FUT technique is essential. Nowadays, it is achieved with a trichophytic closure, where the hair is maintained on either side of the scar region and camouflages it much better.
At present, in the hands of expert surgeons, sessions of 3,000 grafts can be conducted, making it possible to treat most cases of baldness in a single session.
The density of the hair grafts obtained in the receptor site is far greater than a few years ago. The way in which grafts are treated to enhance their survival has also improved and this results in much more satisfactory outcomes.
All of these factors influence the on-going improvement of hair grafting both in men and women and the technique has reached a high level of popularity.
Before and after the hair transplant. Picture courtesy of Dr. Ruiz Alconero
Despite successful treatment of the donor site with trichophytic closure, not every patient achieves a narrow and practically invisible scar in cases of very short or shaved hair.
The need to avoid scarring has lead to refining the punch extraction technique, using much smaller calibre punches. However, the patient should be informed that this technique has a higher rate of transection and the number of grafts that can be extracted is lower, because the overall technique is slower.
In most cases, perfection is reached by combining techniques and obtaining part of the donor hair with the strip method (FUT) and another with the punch method (FUE).
FUE hair graft technique
The BHT technique consists of extracting hair from body areas using the FUE technique, which allows for a larger donor site in patients with poor coverage in the occipital donor site, due to previous hair grafts.
It should be mentioned that together with these advances, the measures adopted to achieve conservation of the existing hair are also of major importance.
The two products used to conserve existing hair vitality are finasteride and minoxidil. These products have a mild irritant effect on the scalp in patients who apply the treatment for over 3 or 4 years. There is now a foam format available which is easier to apply and apparently has improved its effectiveness, given that the product contains liposomes and penetrates better.
However, not every type of baldness responds to these medicinal products, there are other influencing factors in the evolution of baldness which are still fairly unknown (nutrition, oxidation and others). Therefore, an expert physician should provide differential diagnosis for the treatment of alopecia.
Request a free informative consultation now with one of our expert surgeons from the our Hair Transplant Unit. They will advise you on the technique best suited to your needs.
