Hair replacement surgery is generally considered a procedure for men only. However, the same techniques used to treat men can be helpful for women who have experienced permanent hair loss.
Causes of hair loss
Although hair loss is more common in men, some women also experience hereditary hair thinning as they age. Women may suffer hair loss, too, from wearing tight ponytails or barrettes that permanently damage hair follicles. ln rare cases, they may experience permanent hair thinning after pregnancy.
Illness, exposure to drugs or other chemicals, and accidents or burns that damage the scalp can cause hair loss in both men and women. Sometimes, permanent hair loss occurs for no known reason. Fortunately, facial plastic surgery offers several options to individuals who have suffered permanent hair loss.
Correcting hair loss
Hair loss in both men and women is treated through grafting techniques or flap surgery. Grafting often is the best treatment for thinning hair. Narrow strips of hair-bearing skin are taken from the back of the head and fashioned into tiny, individual grafts containing as many as nine or as few as one or two hair follicles. These are transplanted into the bald area in a pattern that mimics natural hair growth. Generally, several sessions, spaced one to four months apart, are needed to achieve the desired density.
Scalp flap surgery can treat a large area of baldness. In this procedure, which involves several steps performed a week or so apart, a large flap of hair-bearing scalp is lifted, rotated, and placed in a new position. The flap rotation typically is done under light anesthesia, and patients must take it easy until the stitches are removed a week or so later. The results, however, are dramatic and immediate.
Which procedure is best for you?
Before selecting a hair replacement procedure, your facial plastic surgeon will analyze the extent and cause of your hair loss and the location and availability of donor hair follicles. For men, it is particularly important to predict future hair loss patterns before initiating hair replacement therapy, since flaps or grafts must never be taken from a site that may become bald. In both men and women, the surgeon will take care to ensure that the hairline looks as natural as possible.
Hair replacement surgery is generally considered a procedure for men only. However, the same techniques used to treat men can be helpful for women who have experienced permanent hair loss.