Toronto Hair Transplant Surgeons’ involvement in the field of hair transplantation is a natural outgrowth of his pre-eminence and vast experience in cosmetic surgery, a field that involves fine expertise aimed at achieving natural, seamless results. THTS provides patients with the defining standard in hair restoration: an undetectable, natural look.
A hair transplant is quite a simple procedure in principle.
1. What is a hair transplant exactly?
Hair transplantation is an artistic redistribution system that takes donor dominant hair follicles from donor areas such as the chest or from the very back of the head and artfully transplants them into thinning or balding areas. With current microsurgical technologies, this results in a very natural appearance. Basically, we take hair from where you have more than you need and put it where you need it more.
2. How long does the transplanted hair last?
Since the hair used in hair restoration surgery comes from the donor area, which is not sensitive to the balding process, it will be permanent. This hair will retain its genetic characteristics even after relocation, so for the vast majority of patients, virtually all transplanted hair lasts a lifetime. In some cases, a small percentage of transplanted hair may be lost as the patient ages.
3. What is “follicular unit extraction”?
This procedure has been called the logical endpoint of 30 years of evolution in hair transplantation, beginning with traditional larger plugs and culminating in the move to one, two, three, and four hair follicular unit hair grafts, which mirror the way hair grows in nature. Using this advanced technique, a surgeon can move more hair in a totally natural way – creating a natural look at every stage of hair transplantation.
4. How many hairs are transplanted per session?
We can do up to 2000 microscopically-created grafts in a session. Each graft is an individual hair follicle or can include up to 4 hairs.
5. Does THTS create its own graft incisions?
Yes. We take great care in determining the pattern and direction of each transplanted hair.
6. Is it going to hurt?
The great majority of our patients are quite comfortable, both during and after their hair transplantation procedure; occasionally, a patient says he had some pain. As you would expect, local anesthetics are used during the procedure. We also supply you with medication which is available for you to use after the procedure if you should need it. Many of our patients find that they do not need to take any medication at all after their hair transplantation procedure.
7. How does your procedure differ from all the others I see advertised?
I can’t fully account for the techniques of others, because I don’t know, exactly, the protocols and variations they use in processing the results they achieve. We can talk to you about my own techniques, which include follicular unit micrografting. This is the most natural way to transplant hair, as it is how it appears in nature. Hairs can be transplanted one by one, with attention given to the exact placement and direction of each hair.
8. Is there any scarring?
Whenever human skin is cut, it always heals by the process called “fibrosis”. This fibrosis (commonly known as scarring) is the skin’s way of healing. The healing sites in the transplanted areas are usually so small that the fibrosis is virtually undetectable. At my clinic, hair transplantation procedures are designed to produce a very natural look. In the great majority of cases, the microtechnologies currently used at my clinic make the restored hairline virtually undetectable.
9. Do you offer Rogaine and Propecia? How effective are they?
The manufacturers of both Rogaine and Propecia tell you that their product is not effective in the frontal area, which is the area of most concern to most patients, especially the frontal hairline. With Rogaine, the manufacturer (Upjohn) claims that approximately 8-10% get cosmetically- effective growth, and another 20% get vellus or peach fuzz growth. The manufacturer of Propecia (Merck) claims slightly better results.
10. Why don’t other hair transplants I’ve seen look natural?
Today, if you see a recently-completed hair transplant that does not look natural, that’s because it is usually simply a bad hair transplant. My hair transplants go unnoticed by you and everyone else, in the great majority of cases, because they are so natural looking. Modern research in hair growth has discovered that natural scalp hairs actually grow in small groupings (called follicular units) of 1, 2, 3 or occasionally, 4 hairs per unit. So, it is my strong emphasis not just to imitate nature, but to try to duplicate nature. We employ micro-technologies that use closely-placed and randomly dispersed 1, 2, 3, and 4 hair units. I have refined these micro-technologies to the point where often, other medical doctors, even on close inspection, have a difficult time telling which natural hairs are original (non-transplanted) and which natural hairs have been restored (transplanted). That’s why today, the state-of-the-art is follicular unit extraction.
11. Are there any complications or risks with the hair transplant surgery?
Occurrences of infection after the procedure are rare. In the few cases where infection does occur, it is often due to the patient’s failure to fully follow post-operative instructions. Even when infection occurs, it generally is easily treatable with antibiotics, which can be prescribed by the physician.
12. How many grafts will it take to cover 1 square inch?
That is very difficult to answer without seeing you. This is because the number of grafts required will ultimately be dependant upon the texture and quality of your hair (i.e. darker, coarser hair may require fewer grafts to cover the same area, as compared to lighter coloured, fine hair). It will also be dependent upon your density goals.
13. Do you use a laser in the hair transplantation procedure?
No. I do not feel that the laser benefits the patient. It can damage healthy hair follicles, have a negative impact on scalp elasticity, and in general, slow down the healing process. The use of lasers in hair restoration has diminished greatly in the last few years.
14. Do you do hair transplantation on women?
Yes. Female hair loss is quite common. In fact, studies indicate more than 20 million American women are experiencing some degrees of female pattern hair loss. “The great majority of women with typical female pattern hair loss can be helped significantly. Women usually have a similar donor area to men. This means they have enough supply to fulfil the demand, so the results are usually very good”.
15. I have a medical condition, can I still receive a hair transplant?
Pre-existing medical conditions are always a concern of mine. If you have a pre-existing medical condition, please tell me at the time of your consultation. For your convenience, we have listed responses from some of the most frequently asked medical questions:
COUMADIN If you are taking Coumadin, you will need to be off Coumadin for a week prior to your hair restoration procedure.
DIABETES I have performed a lot of successful hair restoration procedures for patients with diabetes.
INTRAVENOUS SEDATION Intravenous sedation is virtually never used for hair restoration procedures. Instead, patients are gently administered local anaesthesia and are able to relax and stretch, or use the restroom at any time during the procedure. If you would like additional sedation or relaxation, you may request it.
KIDNEY TRANSPLANT For various medical reasons, a hair restoration procedure cannot be done prior to a pending kidney transplant. However, once a kidney transplant procedure is completed and has healed, I can determine if it is feasible to have a hair restoration procedure.
