HAIR TRANSPLANTATION

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Hair Transplantation History

Hair loss (alopecia) has plagued mankind since the dawn of its history, this is proven by a hair restoration formula, found in papyrus, in ancient Egypt in 1500 B. C. Ebers.

1957 marked an important milestone in the history of hair transplantation, when Dr. Orentreich coined the term “donor dominance”. He explained the basic principle of hair transplantation which says that transplanted hair continues to display the same characteristics of the hair from where it was taken.

In other words, healthy hair that is harvested from the back or side of the scalp (the permanent zone) will continue to grow as if it were still in its original location. Donor dominance explains why hair in the donor area, which is resistant to balding, continues to grow after it is transplanted to the thinning or bald areas of the scalp.

The most important historical milestones in the evolution of hair transplantation:

Baromio transplanted hair in animals

1804

1822

J. Dieffenbach performs autologous hair transplantation, on the skin

Dr. Okuda uses 2-4 mm diameter to restore alopecia

1939

1943

Tamura implants unilateral hair transplant injections to restore loss in adolescence

Orentreich uses self-cuttings to restore androgenetic alopecia

1959

1980

Limmer uses microscopes to create small grafts containing 1 to 5 hairs

Uebel performs the first strip cut

1992

1994

Limmer takes strips and prepares microscopes, now known as FUT or strip procedure

Unger delineates the safe donor area

1994

1995

Woods collects individual follicles using small punch (1 mm) with acceptable aesthetic appearance and low cross section

Bernstein and Rassman describe the technique of hair follicle transplantation, contributing to the nomenclature of the term

1997

2002

Rassman and Bernstein describe FUE as a surgical technique in medical literature

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What is hair transplantation?

Hair transplantation is the most popular, reliable and widely used method of quantitative restoration of androgenetic alopecia.

  • Hair or hair transplantation, as it is commonly called, is a highly demanding and minimally traumatic surgery.
  • It involves the transfer of follicular units from the fixed hair area (donor area) to the recipient area.
  • Its implementation requires scientific knowledge, experience, surgical ability, higher education, continuous updating and training on the developments in the techniques and tools used and above all artistic and creative perception by the acting physician.
  • It is perhaps the most complex and productive act of Dermatology.
  • The most common aesthetic act in the male population.
  • This practice is rapidly evolving with impressive and natural results

What is the main axis on which hair transplantation is based?

The key value principle for hair transplantation is: "Transplanted retinal hair follicles, placed in a new position maintaining their characteristics".

A landmark in the modern history of hair transplantation is the work of American dermatologist Dr Norman Orentreich in 1959.

Dr Orentreich first introduced the theory of the donor region (the area from which we get hair follicles) and the recipient region (the area where the hair follicles are to be placed) and the "donor dominance" of the hair follicles from the back of the head.

Later studies confirm the inheritance of androgenetic alopecia.

What is a hair follicular unit?

The hair follicular unit is a intriguing structure, consisting of:

  • 1 to 4 final hairs
  • the sebaceous gland
  • the arrector pili muscle and
  • a thin layer of collagen, which surrounds and determines the formation, the follicular papilla. The follicular unit was first described anatomically in 1984 by Dr. John T. Headington and was officially introduced into the field of hair transplantation in 1995 by dermatologists. R. Bernstein, D. Seager, and B. Limmer, as follicular unit transplantation (FUE).

So, we do not just transplant hair but hair follicles, in other words, transplants of 0.75mm to 1mm diameter.

The transplanted hair follicles may contain from one up to four hairs, which must not be separated because they are all part of a single anatomical formation.

How do we define the donor area?

The donor area is the area from which we can safely extract the hair follicular units, that aren't genetically affected.

It is located at the back of the scalp and its exact limits are shown in the following image according to the three models proposed worldwide.

In some cases, other scalp areas such as the beard, chest, spine, pubic, armpit hair, etc. can be used as a donor area in addition to the scalp.

donor area

Which are the ways to extract the follicular units from the donor area?

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There are three ways to extract the follicular units from the donor area:

  • Strip excision from the donor area and subsequent preparation of the follicular units under the microscope. This method is not used in the majority of cases, nowadays because of the scar and significant postoperative discomfort.
  • The follicular unit excision (FUE). This technique is widely used in the majority of hair transplantation cases worldwide over the last five years. In Greece, it was implemented and officially announced for the first time, by Dr. Sotiris Theocharis in 2003 in the dermatological journal INFODERMA (NOE 2003).
  • The combination of the above techniques in one session(combo technique). This technique is considered an extremely demanding method and requires surgical skills and excellent medical knowledge of both FUE and FUT methods.

Who will benefit from a hair transplantation?

Hair transplantation can be successfully implemented if there is sufficient medical experience and proper evaluation by the doctor, in the following cases:

  • Androgenetic alopecia in men
  • Androgenetic alopecia in women
  • Alopecia of eyebrows, eyelashes and beard
  • Alopecia after facelift - traumas – burn injuries, scalp injuries
  • Men or women who wish to repair or change the shape of their hairline
  • Alopecia due to chronic scalp disorders, from autoimmune diseases such as disc erythematosus lupus (DLE), lichen planus pigmentosus, frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA), but under strict conditions. In particular, it is indicated only if the disease has been "silent" for a period of five years and after the patient has been informed of the possibility of postoperative recurrence of the disease.

Transplantation is not applicable to alopecia areata cases, except eyebrows and beard cases, when the disease has been silent for at least two years and after the candidate is realistically informed of the possibility of recurrence.

Transplantation is not a solution to any alopecia type - attention to the right indication by a specialist dermatologist is essential.

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Our 25 years of clinical experience in hair transplantation, combined with our highly trained medical and paramedical staff, are a strong warranty for restoring androgenetic alopecia (of all types) and treating scalp diseases, achieving successful and natural looking results.

For the hair transplantations, we use the two basic techniques of FUE or FUT (STRIP) methods, or a combination of the two, depending on the needs of each patient.

CONTACT DETAILS

28 Aristomenous str, 16674 - Glyfada, Greece

+30 210 9600930

info@skinandhairtransplant.gr

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