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What is Natural Hair Transplantation?
Natural Hair Transplantation or "Micrografting" is a surgical
procedure that uses your own hair to fill out other areas in your
head that lost hair. A donor area usually at the back of the head is
used to harvest the hair from and the recipient area usually at the
top and front of the head receives this hair. The natural hair
transplantation procedure thereby gives men and women better hair
distribution by using their own hair to fill the areas that lost
hair. The Micrografting procedure uses smaller grafts than other
procedures giving the head a more natural look. A good Micrografting
procedure can restore for men and women the look they had before
hair loss.
Are You a Good Candidate for Micrografting?
You would be a good candidate for Micrografting if you are a man or
a woman that has an area in your head with no hair. You need to have
some hair in other areas usually at the back or the sides of your
head to be used as the donor area. Micrografting can be performed at
any age.
Preparing for Your Surgery
Before your surgery, Dr. Metwally will perform a complete evaluation
with you. Your goals and expectations will be thoroughly discussed
and Dr. Metwally will explain to you your procedure in great detail.
You should wear loose fitting clothes and bear in mind that your
outfit may get soiled. Do not wear jewelry, contact lenses, or bring
valuables to the operating room. Remove all body jewelry from
pierced body parts.
Duration of the Surgery
The duration of the surgery varies significantly according to the
amount of hairs being transplanted. In general it takes Dr. Metwally
approximately an hour for every 500 grafts (a graft contains one
hair) and he can transplant up to 2000 grafts per procedure.
Anesthesia Used
The surgery is usually performed under local anesthesia with
sedation (you won’t be totally asleep but you will be relaxed and
drowsy and won’t feel anything during the procedure). You will be
ready to leave 1 hour after the surgery.
During Your Surgery
During your surgery the perfect donor area is chosen, which is in
the non-balding areas usually at the back or the sides of the head.
Depending on the size of the bald area that needs to be covered, a
strip of hair bearing skin is extracted from the donor area usually
carrying 400 to 800 hairs. The strip is then divided into 400 to 800
tiny grafts. Each graft has one hair. After that, a number of very
tiny incisions equal to the number of prepared hair grafts are made
in the bald area of the patient’s scalp. The grafts extracted form
the donor area are then transplanted in the bald area at the rate of
one graft per incision. No stitches are required for this procedure.
After Your Surgery
After your surgery you won't feel any pain or discomfort for the
first 4 to 6 hours as the effect of the local anesthetic will still
be there. The recipient area usually causes no pain or discomfort.
The donor area may cause some discomfort for 2 days during which you
can use the pain killer prescribed for you by Dr. Metwally to
alleviate any pain or discomfort. Usually depending on the amount of
work done, the forehead and sometimes the eyes may be a bit swollen.
The swelling will subside on its own within 3 to 5 days. The
stitches are removed 10 days after the procedure. You can return to
work as soon as you wish, but you need to refrain from strenuous
activities, vigorous exercise, washing your hair or combing it for a week after your surgery.
Seeing Your Result
The result from the Micrografting procedure is achieved through 3
phases. The 1st phase is the phase where the hair overgrows right
after the transplantation this phase usually takes 2 weeks. The 2nd
phase, which takes 2 to 4 weeks, is the phase where the hair shaft
falls off. The 3rd phase which usually begins with the 4th to 6th
week is the re-growing phase, where the follicles start re-growing
hair yet it is still scattered and not uniformed. The final result
is usually achieved 4 to 6 months after surgery when all the
implanted follicles grow hair.
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