It is the most popular plastic surgery among men. Prior to deciding on a procedure it is important to rule out other reasons for hair loss. Those include hormonal imbalance, undiagnosed disease or recent trauma to the area. To make the replacement the surgeon uses the hair around the head, behind the ears and on the neck, therefore, the ideal candidates for this procedure are people with thick hair in those places.
This procedure can be performed using the following methods:
Skin implants with hair - this is the most common and easiest technique. Small pieces of skin (diameter 4-4.5m"m) are taken from the neck, each containing 10-15 hair follicles and implanted into hole at desired location. Afterwards the area is bandaged for 24-48 hours. The new hair does not grow right away, it usually takes 3-4 month. The donor site usually recovers after 10 days. Although the implants leave scars in the donor site those are very small (pin point) and usually covered completely with hair around them. If the area needs to be covered is too large, the surgeon creates a front line hair that can be combed back worth to cover the boldness. The implants cannot be placed too close to each other, because each of them needs blood supply from the area around to create hair. Therefore, usually 2-4 treatments required, to complete the treatment. Each one lasts from 6 month to year. This procedure usually done using local anesthetics and it lasts for an hour.
Skin flaps - this method uses long bands of hairy skin taken from around the head to the bold areas. The flat is moved with its own blood supply. This method can create unnatural hairline requiring additional implant to cover the scars on the sides.
Scalp reduction using skin expanders - the surgeon can minimize the boldness by removing some of the scalp skin using tissue expanders. An expander is put under the skin and inflated gradually. The extra skin is removed and closed. This technique requires two operations and takes more time.
Every operation has its ricks. An infection can occur, the implant may not "take" and bleeding may occur.
After the surgery you should avoid vigorous activities at least a three weeks. You'll be able to go to work after several days. The implants may fall off after 6 weeks, this is normal. It'll take another 5-6 weeks for the hair to grow.