Hair transplantation surgeries revolve around harvesting healthy hair follicles from the scalp and implanting them in the areas where hair growth has stopped. A graft is simply a strip of skin that contains hair. That is, grafts consist of several hair follicles. Hair grafts during surgery could be taken from any part of the body where hair growth occurs. However, due to the high sustainability of the area, they usually are taken from the back of the scalp. The size and shape of the graft that needs to be taken for the transplant is determined by the tools and surgical approaches. However, the purpose is to remove a small piece of tissue containing maximum hair follicles. The tissue could be removed from the donor area in a strip at once, which is the procedure called FUT (Follicular Unit Transplantation), or could be removed in individual units at a time, which is called the FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) method. Both methods are used if you decide to have a hair transplant in Istanbul. The professionals in Istanbul are experienced enough to understand which transplant type you need. Every patient has different hair conditions, thus it is important to consult a professional before deciding on your hair recovery path.
With the FUT hair transplant technique, grafts are harvested from the donor area with the use of dissecting microscopes. These follicular units, grafts, are then prepared for implantation in the recipient area. In a follicular unit, there are typically 2 or 3 hairs. After the removal of the tissue, the surgeon will need to make incisions on the scalp to prepare the recipient area for transplantation. Then, the grafts will be placed one at a time into the areas where incisions were made.
With FUE hair transplant, however, donor strips are not removed. Instead, follicular units are individually taken from the scalp one at a time. Then, the individual hair follicles are implanted into the recipient area.
How Is Grafting Being Performed?
The most current kind of hair transplant surgery is hair grafting. During grafting, the surgeon removes microscopic sections of healthy hair from the scalp. They may use a tiny, round tool to remove the skin. These grafts typically contain 10 to 15 hairs. Hair grafting treatment may take many hours. Most patients remain awake during the operation, but they are given certain medication to numb the scalp. If you require a lot of hair transplantation, you may need to undergo more surgeries. The procedure is generally successful and has long-lasting effects.
Graft Survivability
The hair grafts must survive hair transplant surgery for them to be transplanted and grow healthy hair. The more hair grafts survive, the more successful the operation will be. However, not all grafts survive the operation due to several factors. Here are the three major factors that cause graft survivability to decrease:
- Dehydration: According to various studies, grafts may live in a dry environment for around 16 minutes before dying. It is beneficial to keep them in a liquid solution for them to live longer.
- Oxygen: When follicular units are isolated from the donor zone, they are deprived of oxygen, and if this occurs for an extended period of time, they will no longer function effectively.
- Temperature: Keeping the follicular units cool will help keep them healthy.
