Things You Should Ask the Doctor Before a Hair Transplant

Hair transplant is by no means a very common procedure, a lot of people either don’t know about it, or don’t understand it. There are some misgivings about the procedure based on lack of knowledge and awareness. So if you want a hair transplant, get down to some research and prepare a list of questions for the doctor.

If possible find people who have undergone the procedure before, and in case you can’t find them there are a lot of online forums that you can join. The point being - before you pick a clinic, be prepared to ask them the right questions.

We are going to help you outline some such questions:

• Am I the candidate for hair transplant?

If you have male pattern baldness which is equal to or more than stage 2 but without complete baldness and you have a healthy scalp and adequate donor (this may include other donor areas like beard, upper chest and upper back in addition to scalp). Then one may think that he is a candidate for the hair transplant unless you have any other medical problem which does not warrant the procedure.

• What kind of hair transplant method will the doctor use?

The two most common methods of hair transplant employed by doctors today are Follicular Unit Extraction or FUE, and Follicular Unit Transplantation or FUT. The former involves removing hair follicles individually and transplanting it to the bald area, while the latter involves removing strips of tissue from the donor area, cutting it into individual follicular units, and then transplanting it.

FUE takes less time to heal than FUT, and leaves tiny puncture scars, which are not really visible. It is also almost painless and has a short recovery time. While FUT can take longer to heal and can leave a linear scar.

So ask your doctor which method they will use for you, and the reasons for the choice they are making. This discussion will help you prepare for the kind of procedure you are getting.

• Do I have enough donor hair?

Male pattern baldness or androgenic alopecia means that men start balding at the temples and the crown of the head. Some men will have a single bald spot on top of the head, while in some the hairline recedes to form an ‘M’ shape at the front of the head. Usually, the back and sides of the head still have hair, and these are treated as donor areas. Hair from donor areas is transplanted to the bald spots using FUE or FUT techniques.

It is important to ask the surgeon if you have enough follicles to cover the bald spot. In some men, hair loss affects the whole head and there might not be enough in the donor areas. In these cases, the beard, upper chest or upper back can be used as extended donor areas.

It is also essential to ask the surgeon, how many follicles will you need (approximately) to cover the area and where will they come from.

• Will it look natural?

How a transplant will look depends a lot on the skill of the surgeon. A good surgeon will carefully design the new hairline to suit the face structure. Surgeons create hairline in a way that it looks age appropriate as well, for instance, an old man cannot have the hairline of a teenager. The creation of the slits and placement of the follicles is managed by the surgeon, and when done correctly it will look natural.

You need an experienced surgeon to get the most aesthetically desirable results. Ask your surgeon about how natural can they make your transplant look. You will be able to assess the skills of the surgeon with the way they answer that question.

• How much will it cost?

Some clinics charge per hair instead of per graft. Now the thing that many people might not know is that one graft is actually 2.2 hairs. So one of the questions before a transplant should be about how much money will it actually cost and whether they are charging on per graft basis or per hair basis.

• Will I need it again?

In the case of younger patients, the hair loss might not have stabilized, which means that there may be future hair loss. In such cases, patients might have to revisit for the additional procedure down the years. Usually, the doctors can assess if you might need another transplant down the years. It is a must ask a question for every patient.

The point of being prepared with questions is that you develop a level of comfort with the doctor and may get an idea about the surgeon and the clinic. Secondly, it’s good to be prepared especially in cases you don’t really know the clinic or the doctor too well, it can ensure that they don’t promise more than they can deliver.

Consult to Dr. Sangay Bhutia from Hair & Senses – Clinic for Hair Transplant in Delhi regarding your hair transplant and get the optimal solution at affordable cost.