The Growth Of Hair Follicles
Getting a hair transplant is a big decision, one that you need to make with a lot of care and consideration.
What you also need to keep in mind is the fact that there is quite the chance that your transplant will not turn out the way you want it to. As a matter of fact, in sporadic cases, the results are 100%, and not even the most competent surgeon will be able to promise you the same.
The survival and growth of hair follicles are what determines the success or failure of a hair transplant, and numerous factors could affect the growth of hair follicles, post a transplant surgery and some of the major ones include: Donor scalp issues:
When you are undergoing a hair transplant, the hair follicles are taken out either individually or in groups of a maximum of five grafts, and these are known as follicular units. Being afflicted with a condition like androgenetic alopecia means that the individual hair follicles start to shrink and eventually either disappear or become extremely fine.
Over time, not only do the follicular units start to reduce, but the actual follicles in the unit, also start to decrease.
• What is commonly known as the donor area has the occipital and parietal parts of the scalp and these parts of the scalp are typically protected from hair loss of most kinds. This is the reason why donor’s hair is generally taken from this area – but, if the hair is not harvested from this region, it could lead to poor results.
• When the hair extracted is of poor quality, it is sure to lead to a lot of problems, including a possibly failed transplant. If the hair extracted is of poor quality, it could also cause challenges in designing the hairline. When the extracted hair follicles are not extracted with care and precision, it could lead to the grafts dying before they are even implanted or lead to other complications after a hair transplant.
Operation day factors: Without a doubt, the day of the surgery is the most important and it is imperative that the surgical team is on its toes. There are actually several things that could go wrong on the operation day and while many of them could depend on the skill level of the surgeon, there are some that could be due to other conditions. However, any of these factors could affect the growth of hair follicles, post-surgery.
When hair is harvested and implanted, it takes about 3 days for the blood supply to be restored. During the period between the extraction and implantation, the graft is prone to a lot of stress and this could lead to either the compromising of the draft or complete death, leaving it completely useless. There are several reasons that the grafts could become useless, and understanding them is the first step to avoiding them.
• Dehydration is one of the leading causes of the destruction of hair follicles, and many inexperienced surgeons will implant these dehydrated follicles, which will inevitably lead to complications after hair transplant surgery. If the harvest and preparation of grafts have not been done correctly, there could be trouble in paradise.
• If the harvest is not done properly, and there is blunt trauma to the follicle, especially the bulb and bulge region, the chances of survival of the same will be incredibly low. As a matter of fact, injury to the bulge region could be a lot more damaging.
• When the hair tissue is removed from the scalp, it is being separated from its blood supply and this leads to the development of ischemia. With the lack of oxygen, the cells are not able to function properly and this increases the chances of the graft being unable to survive. In case, the graft is still implanted, the chances of it surviving and leading to new hair growth will be minimal. If the perfusion of the harvested hair follicles has not been done properly, it is probable that the transplant will not be successful.
In the hands of a talented and experienced hair transplant surgeon, things should go well, and the results of the transplant should be in tandem with what you are expecting. However, it is often easy to overlook the simple things, which could eventually affect the final result and affect the growth of the hair follicles, post-procedure.
