• Age of the patient should be 23 yrs or older.
• Inadequate response to medications.
• Significant hair loss.
• Other causes of Hair Loss have been ruled out.
• No medical contraindications to surgery.
• Reasonable patient expectations.

Yes

Nowadays,Hair Transplant is being done by Follicular unit technique which involves two ways of hair extraction – STRIP method and FOLLICULAR UNIT EXTRACTION ( FUE).

In the STRIP method,a strip of skin from the back of head (donor area) is removed with the help of scalpel. The gap at the back of head is then sutured together. The strip is then divided into grafts containing one ,two or three follicles.

FUE – Follicular Unit Extraction: A stitchless method of hair restoration in which hair root (follicles) are extracted from the back of head under local anaesthesia with the help of special micropunches and implanted in the bald area. In this procedure, no scalpel is required which is used for cutting skin in the ‘strip’ surgery. The entire procedure is done by the surgeons and not by technicians.

FUE can be done in all cases.

It is most useful for people who keep small hair or shave their head or have tendency of hypertrophic scars     because they will not have any visible scars (As they are only Microscopic).

This is the only method by which adequate cover can be given for NH Gr VI-VII as the hair can be extracted from the head as well as the body in multiple sittings.

In the strip technique, the number of hairs are limited as only those hair which are removed in the strip can be used for transplant.

It is also the preferred technique for eyebrow or moustache transplant or in patients having tight skin.

It is ideal for revision cases i.e. those who have already undergone surgery by strip method. Multiple sittings can be given on consecutive days or later on to give “add-on” hair.

Hair grows naturally in follicular units of one, two or three groups which if extracted together grow in a very natural way.

Hair transplant is done under local anaesthesia all over the world which is administered with very fine insulin syringes which hurt minimally. Also we administer nerve blocks which cut down the number of pricks considerably and lead to prolonged anaesthesia. The surgery per se is painless.

Individual sittings of FUE can be planned according to the time available. They can be done even on consecutive days or few days or a week apart whereas in the strip, you have to wait for 6-12 months.

The hair start regrowing after 3-4 months. Full growth is usually appreciable after 10-12 months.

Yes, the number of follicles extracted in STRIP method is definitely more in one sitting as compared to one sitting of FUE. But even one sitting of strip is usually not sufficient for most of the cases which means multiple sittings and multiple scars. FUE is virtually free of scars (As they are only Microscopic) and patient can undergo multiple sittings without much discomfort.

In STRIP method, sutures are put at the back of head, so special precautions like sleeping in a particular position, refraining from exercise, avoiding strenuous work etc. are required till the stitches are out.

In FUE, the patient walks out of the clinic, rests for a while and is free to follow daily routine from next day. Even the bandage at the back of head is out the next day. As there are no sutures there is minimal pain post operatively.

Scarring is definitely more in STRIP method and sometimes numbness and abnormal sensation persists at the back of head.

Healing is much faster in FUE and patient is active and mobile immediately after surgery on the same day only     whereas in STRIP a resting period of at least a week is required.

The scabs at the back of head and at front fall off after 7-10 days and one cannot even make out the sites from where the grafts have been taken after 2 weeks.

It is lifetime as the donor area is the permanent zone.

FUE the world over is more costly than STRIP as it involves more hardwork and more time period is spent. Also the entire procedure is performed by the surgeons themselves unlike STRIP method where the assistants do upto 75% of the work.

It depends on the bald area as well as the density required by a patient. You can send in your pictures in front-on, sides and from below view for free online consultation and we can advise you regarding the same.

The look is definitely natural as transplant is done by FOLLICULAR UNIT method where naturally growing groups are taken out and implanted as compared to the outdated punch transplant where the look was not natural.