Science has led to the invention of many procedures in the name of providing solutions to todays problems. Well, that is good, but these same techniques are a leading cause of threats that even claim peoples lives. Who is to blame? Science or man, whoever is to be blamed the truth remains that man falls as the major victim.
The need to restore back lost hair through trauma, genetic factors, poor handling schemes, and medications have created a thin and a thick path to hair transplant procedures
What is a hair transplant?
Hair transplants are surgically conducted procedures in a secured area with specialized instruments. A given number of hair grafts are harvested or extracted from the donor area and implanted into the recipient area with aesthetic skills.
Hair transplant procedures are like any other surgeries that can go wrong creating undesired results, and life threatening conditions that can lead to death if not detected and treated in time.
The procedure
The best thing about hair transplant procedures is that your own hair is used to stimulate the bald area to produce more hair in the bald region. The procedure of hair transplant is selected from the two main techniques, i.e. FUE and FUT.
In the FUE, the minimally invasive procedure facilitates the surgeon to collect 3000 hair grafts in a single procedure. The hair follicles are one by one removed from the donor area and fixed in the proper position and angle in the recipient area. There is less visible scarring and a shortened healing time
The first, introduced technique was FUT, commonly taken to be aggressive and painful; the procedure is still used today where a strip of hair is cut from the donor area normally on the sides or at the back of the scalp. It is dissected under a microscope to create individual follicles that are later fixed into the slits dug in the bald region.
Hair transplant procedures are ideally viewed as the main gate to overcome hair loss and bald patches in men and women. That cant be ignored due to the natural results and a number of successful procedures we have seen so far.
Considering a hair transplant for any patient with hair loss is a permanent way to eliminate hair loss, but take a look at the side-effects in the short run and the complications in the long run of hair transplant in India;
- Wastage of hair follicles
Whether in FUE or FUT, there are higher chances of misusing hair follicles due to over-extraction. The latest invention today is a robot which can graft a given number of hair follicles needed for the procedures, but not all hair transplant clinics have such technology.
The manual extraction technique has made patients lose more hair follicles unknowingly mostly with an inexperienced surgeon
- Bleeding
It mostly occurs in the FUT technique where a strip of hair is removed from the donor area and sutured. Overstraining the wound or improper stitching will cause the wound to bleed. A patient ought to contact the surgeon when minimal pressure exerted doesnt stop the bleeding
- Pain and Itching
Pain and itching are side-effects that occur in every patient after a hair transplant. Painkillers can relieve the pain after a hair transplant procedure. Itching happens during the healing process due to dryness and the falling out of the implanted hair follicles. Shampoos and moisturizers can relieve the effect
- Thinning
One must expect to witness hair thinning in the first months of the hair transplant. This lasts for a few months, but cases there are cases when the issue is prolonged
- Swelling
Some patients experience swelling in the scalp or the face.
- Scarring
In the FUT technique, a linear scar is created and it is worsened in case ones blood has less healing factors. The FUE creates dot scars that are less visible even if one trims his hair. In some other patients, the scars may be less or invisible while in others they will be visible.
- Hiccups
It occurs in 6% of the patients believed to arise from the effects of anaesthesia. It can increase in case no medications are taken and make you restless. They can also keep you away from sleeping, eating and drinking.
- Numbness
Believed to occur due to the effects of anaesthesia, numbness of the scalp can last for 2 months.
- Infections
It is taken to be a side-effect that can modify into a complication unknowingly. The extraction and implantation of the hair follicles expose the veins and the inner skin to germs and polluted air. Taking antibiotics and proper care during the recovery period can reduce the chances of infections
- Cysts
They commonly appear in the recipient area and they appear like pimples. They can last a few weeks and then disappear.
- Death
In rare cases, death can occur due to high amounts of anaesthesia, bleeding, and vigorous activities that exert pressure and tension in the scalp. Always follow the doctors advice and visit a qualified surgeon to reduce the side-effects of hair transplant procedures.
