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Surgical treatment for common baldness
Last reviewed: 08.07.2025
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The method involves transplanting androgen-resistant hair from the side and back of the head to areas of thinning or baldness. Each implant (graft) contains 1 to 5 hair follicles. The number of transplanted grafts depends on the location and size of the area being restored and the desired thickness of the hair. From 20 to 1600 grafts are transplanted in one procedure, the duration of the procedure is 4-10 hours. Hair transplantation is performed under local anesthesia on an outpatient basis. The purpose of the procedure is to return the patient to his natural appearance. The best results are achieved with carefully planned and accurately performed transplantation of micro-grafts (1-2 hair follicles) placed on the border of the hairline, and mini-grafts (3-5 hair follicles) placed in the hair itself, which together recreates the natural growth line and the desired thickness of the hair. The transplanted hair is outwardly no different from the non-transplanted hair, is not rejected, since it is not foreign. Immediately after the procedure, the patient does not need any frightening bandages or camouflage pads. Shampoo can be used after 24 hours. Small crusts form on the surgical field, which are rejected after 7-10 days. On the 2nd-3rd day after implantation, a slight swelling in the forehead may occur, disappearing within a few days; microcurrent or laser therapy is recommended to speed up the resolution of the swelling. Noticeable new hair growth begins 3-4 months after the procedure and will continue throughout the patient's life.
Despite the brilliant immediate results of surgical correction of baldness, it is necessary to continue using medications that prevent the loss of androgen-sensitive hair remaining in the frontal-parietal region.
Hair transplantation is also successfully used to correct cicatricial alopecia of the scalp that develops after a skin injury or as a result of a number of skin diseases (lupus erythematosus, atrophic forms of lichen planus, etc.).
The pronounced cosmetic effect of eyebrow transplantation is of undoubted interest; however, one cannot help but note a significant drawback of this procedure - hair transplanted from the occipital region grows long and the formed eyebrows require constant trimming.
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