What is hair transplantation?
Hair transplantation involves transferring hairs from the back and side of the head (the “donor area”) to those areas undergoing hair loss or thinning. The hairs from the donor area are genetically programmed to be permanent. Once transplanted, these hairs will continue to grow for a lifetime. Today the state of the art procedure is follicular unit grafting, the only procedure Dr. Epstein performs. A follicular unit is the naturally occurring grouping of hairs containing from one to three, occasionally four, hairs. Each graft is cut individually under the microscope. As many as 2500 grafts are able to be transplanted in a single procedure lasting three to six hours. Click here for an in-depth look at follicular unit micrografting, Dr. Epstein’s procedure for hair transplantation.
Even in the baldest man a permanent ring of hair exists at the sides and back of the head. For reasons unknown this hair is unaffected by the balding process. In follicular hair transplantation a strip of skin containing this permanent hair is removed from the back of the head. Care is taken that this strip is not too wide so that the flexibility allows the edges to be neatly sutured together after the strip is removed. The hair follicles are then carefully dissected out from the piece of skin and placed in very small surgical sites made in the thinning or balding areas of the scalp. Once transplanted this hair behaves as it was programmed to behave and should grow naturally for the rest of your life.
Hair transplantation is the surgical procedure which involves the removal of hairs from donor areas, commonly the back and sides of the head, which are then transplanted to other areas that are thinning or balding. Because the hairs removed from the donor area are not susceptible to baldness, they will continue to grow for a lifetime once transplanted. Follicular unit grafting is the most modern and state-of-the-art procedure for hair transplantation, and also the only procedure that Dr. Epstein performs. Hair naturally grows in groupings of one to three, and sometimes four, hairs which are called follicular units. Grafts are individually cut under the microscope, and as many as 2500 of these grafts can be transplanted during a single procedure, which typically lasts anywhere between three and six hours.
