How are hair transplants done...
Hair Replacement/Transplants for Men and Women

The procedure can be done under local anesthetic. You are awake and comfortable during the procedure. We advise that you bring music that you would like to listen to and be prepared to spend the morning or afternoon with us. We remove a strip of hair, which is genetically programmed to last longer than hair at the temple recessions and "bald spot" of the head. This hair is then divided under magnification into follicular units, which are the natural groupings of hairs as they lay in our scalp in groups of one, two, or three hairs. We have avoided using larger grafts since they can be more visible particularly at the hairline. Follicular unit grafting as we do it gives a much more natural appearance but may not give the same density. The procedure usually takes three to four hours and no dressing is required. Pain is not usually a problem and is actually adequately treated with Extra Strength Tylenol or no pain medication at all in many patients.

	In order to properly and carefully divide the hair into follicular units our staff uses microscopes and magnifying glasses to be able to see each of the individual hairs from their shafts down to their bulbs. Using sharp scalpels these are separated from each other leaving only a small amount of fat around the bulbs to protect them.
	The grafts can be divided into different sizes. We try to keep them in the groups in which they cluster naturally. These are called follicular units. Sometimes we will separate these down to single hairs where we want the hair to be most natural appearing. This occurs mostly at the frontal hairline. Doubles are also very natural in appearance and tend to blend in nicely with where we place them. The larger clusters of hair are for use only in camouflaged areas where we are trying to attain good density but these grafts can be visible.
	The donor site is the hair on the back of the head, below where most people's receding hairlines will ever recede. The reason for this is the donor hair should have the correct genetic program to last so that when we place it, it will survive. Remember, hair grows based on where it comes from as opposed to where it goes to. We hide the donor site in the hair by excising approximately a 1 cm strip, which is six to ten cm in length. This is then closed on itself with staples, and even in the first week, because it is hidden in the hair, it is camouflaged very well.
	In order to place the grafts, we use fine needles into areas of the scalp that are anesthetized. Rather than coring out scalp we make small slit-like holes, which are just large enough to hold the grafts of the size that we want to place. We don't need compressive dressings or head wraps.

After your procedure