Hair Transplant in India

Hair Transplant in India

Reports suggest that India received almost half a million medical tourists last year! The industry itself is going to be worth about $20 million by 2020. Now, those are some staggering figures. Not to mention, these numbers also tell us how many patients from around the world trust doctors in India (Hair Transplant in India) with their lives and the lives of their loved ones. Various factors have led to the recent increase in the popularity of healthcare tourism in India. 

As a destination for medical tourism, India is also not just a spot for patients from underdeveloped or developing countries, whose medical infrastructure is not very sound. But we are talking about patients from pretty much all parts of the globe, including Europe, America, the Middle East, and Africa. For all these patients, India is not just important for the affordability of procedures, but also the fact that it has qualified, experienced, and reputed doctors, comparable to their counterparts in most developed countries. Added to that are the well-equipped clinics and hospitals; the availability of the latest, cutting-edge technology in medical equipment; and the easy availability of all essential facilities. India has today become a destination of choice for different kinds of surgeries like orthopedics, IVF, hair transplant, gastrointestinal surgery, urology, cardiothoracic surgery, and obesity surgery. Ayurveda and other modalities of alternative medicine have also contributed to the aspects of health care and wellness tourism. 

A portion of these medical tourists in India today come for hair transplants. Hair transplant in India: Procedures by Indian surgeons are extremely popular. Hair transplants in India are more affordable compared to countries like the U.S., the UK, or Australia (hair transplants in India are almost one-fourth or one-fifth of the cost compared to these countries). When we compare the cost and pricing of doing a treatment or surgery in India to that abroad, we can safely say that the combined cost of treatment and leisure tourism is roughly equal to, if not less than, the cost of treatment alone abroad. World-class treatment is offered at a substantially lower cost as compared to those in developed countries with the use of the same technology and level of skill and competence. 

Here’s how: While a hair transplant in India is a very serious surgery, it also has a short recovery time. It is done under local anesthesia, which means the effect wears off in a day and the patient does not have to stay in the clinic. This means that while the patient wants the redness and minor swelling from the surgery to wear off before going back to work or just regular everyday life, meeting family and friends, they can just put on a hat and tour around the country. 

Leisure tourism is already very much in demand in India as it offers a diverse tourist destination with cultural heritage and scenic beauty. Hospitality in Indian culture is well known by the saying "Atithi Devo Bhava". India offers a wide variety of climates, geographies, and cuisines; it is more like a little continent in itself. There are the Himalayas in the north for those who enjoy mountains; states such as Kerala, Goa, Orissa, and others for those who enjoy sun and sand; and the lush, untouched hills and mountains in the north-east for those who want to explore the unexplored. 

India is also very well connected to most big cities in the world, and there are many flight options for all kinds of travelers. Most big cities in the country, like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Chennai, all have modern facilities and good hotels and guesthouses to stay at.

Most importantly, the clinics here offer Two types of hair transplants in India are

FUE, or Follicular Unit Extraction, 

A modern, minimally invasive technique, FUE hair transplant involves removing one follicle at a time from the donor site on the scalp, which is the back and sides of the head, using micro punches, and replanting them onto the bald spots. FUE offers natural-looking results and leaves very small dot-like scars, which disappear over a period of time. For patients who don’t have enough donor hair on their scalp, there is Body Hair Transplant or BHT. BHT involves using the legs, chest, arms, back, etc. as donor areas for extracting grafts and using them to fill in the thin or bald spots on the scalp. In this case, as well, the FUE method is used for extraction. 

FUT stands for Follicular Unit Transplantation. 

FUT hair transplant is a strip method. It involves extracting a strip of follicles from the donor area, dissecting it into individual grafts, and then replanting the grafts onto the recipient area. FUT leaves a thin, linear scar, which can be easily hidden by keeping the hair around it longer. 

India is a great option for tourists who want hair transplants done as well as a vacation to be planned on an affordable budget. It is for people who are ready to fight the emotional and mental trauma that hair loss can cause. However, they must be careful about choosing the right clinic and a good surgeon by doing thorough research, shortlisting clinics, and picking one by comparing their before and after photos, checking the location of the clinic, and the experience of the doctor.

Hair & Senses vs. Other Clinics for Hair Transplant in India

Hair & Senses provides one of the best hair transplants in India. We provide you with the most cost-effective treatment solutions along with assured results.

 

The Hair & Senses is a clinic for hair transplants in India. We provide services for hair transplants in India ranging from scalp-to-scalp hair transplants in India to more advanced facial hair transplants and body-to-scalp hair transplants. Dr. Sangay Bhutia, who is highly experienced in this field, provides detailed consultation and plans the treatment according to the needs of the patient while also keeping in mind future requirements. Dr. Sangay is involved in each and every step of the hair transplant process. Whether it is the creation of the recipient site, graft extraction, graft placement, or the application of the final bandage, the doctor and her highly trained team provide support all throughout the process, be it pre-operative or post-operative care. We understand the needs and apprehensions of the patients at each and every stage of the hair transplant process, so we are there for them to discuss every query.

  

 Source - https://hairnsenses.co.in/hair-transplant-in-India.php

Body Hair Transplant

 

This term essentially means using the hairs from parts of the body other than the scalp and transplanting them on the scalp/head.

Generally, for the purpose of hair transplant, the donor is taken from the head or the scalp itself but in patients where the option of the donor from the scalp is very limited or there is not enough graft available from the head/scalp, then the donor from certain areas of the body can be used for the purpose of transplantation on the head.

Hairs most commonly are taken from the beard followed by the upper chest, upper back, abdomen, armpits, forearm, and legs.

• Indications for using body hair for hair transplant
• Hair loss is in the advance stage, where scalp donor graft follicles are inadequate for providing full coverage
• Scalp donor is used up or exhausted due to previous hair transplant surgeries, with inadequate coverage of the bald area.
• In combination with scalp donor hair where body hair is mixed with scalp hair to improve the density and provide a proper cosmetic result
• Fine body hair can be used for the temporal area, eyebrows, and for hairline
• Inadequate donor area or donor follicles are not present due to scarring alopecia or burns

• Pre-operative planning

Once the stage of baldness is determined and the number of grafts that are required is calculated then the next step is to identify the donor area sites. The doctor should have an approximate estimate of the number of grafts to be harvested from each donor site. One should plan accordingly which follicles to be transplanted in which area to have the best possible result with the body hairs. However, it is always preferable to mix hairs from different donor areas with scalp hairs to have better cosmetic results. The hairs in the recipient area should match the donor hair in terms of caliber, texture, color, and curliness.

When body hairs are to be used for a hair transplant then one needs to identify the hair in the anagen phase of the hair growth cycle. The hair in the early anagen phase or that in the telogen phase are generally not suitable as donors for transplant. The growth period for most body hair is shorter as they are in the telogen phase mainly and the anagen phase is shorter as compared to the scalp hair. We advise the patients to shave the beard 3 days before the procedure and for other body hair, we suggest they shave the donor area like the chest 5-7 days before the hair transplant. This helps in identifying the anagen phase of hair. Some surgeons also use minoxidil as a pretreatment to increase the diameter of the hair and to alter the growth cycle of the hair but this may require long-term treatment.

• Use of Body Hair Transplant:
• In combination with classic hair transplant for achieving greater density in patients having weak donor areas on the scalp
• For filling large areas of the bald patch
• For correction/ repair hair transplant

Body hair has its utility in circumstances where fine hairs are preferred like in the temple region, in the eyebrows, and in the hairline.

It is very important to understand the characteristics of the donor's hair and the recipient's area. For the hairline, we generally use scalp hair and as one goes back to the scalp the scalp donor hair follicles are mixed with donor follicles from other parts of the body to provide adequate density and coverage of the scalp.

Generally, the beard is the preferred donor after the scalp as the thickness of the hair is more favorable than the hair from other areas and the beard hair grows more consistently and longer when compared to hairs from other donor areas.

For the body hair transplant, the number of graft required may be more as the body hair follicle generally provide one hair per follicle. The patterns of growth of hair in different parts of the body are different. The growth phase is the longest in the case of scalp hair followed by the beard. Body hair donor area should be identified depending on the recipient site, for example, the finer hairs can be used in areas where soft fine hairs are required like the temporal area or hairline.

We advise the patient to come on the day of the surgery and not to shave the beard for 3 days and if the chest is to be used then not to shave it for 5 days before the surgery. This helps to identify and extract anagen hair, which improves the overall yield. The chest and back are more sensitive areas so proper and long-term local anesthetic should be infiltrated, one may use some sedation also to come the patient more comfortable. The finer diameter of punches is used for different areas of the body to harvest the donor in case of body to a scalp hair transplant. One should also know that the depth at which the hair follicle lies is also different in different parts of the body, this also is helpful in the proper extraction of follicles.

One of the important factors to know is that there are different angles and orientations of the hairs in different areas of the body so it is of importance that they are properly extracted keeping this in mind otherwise transaction may happen to lead to the wastage of the follicles. Healing of the donor area depends on which area was utilized to extract the follicles. The Beard area generally heals by the end of the first week after the surgery, and the chest area usually takes around 2 weeks to heal. Regarding the recipient area, the transplanted hairs first undergo shedding starting at 3 weeks, and then new hair growth starts around the end of the third month and results start becoming more visible by end of 5 months of hair transplant. One common problem which may be encountered after a body hair transplant is wide spots at the region from where the donor grafts are harvested. This is due to the hypopigmentation at these sites. This is more commonly seen on the chest area rather than the back.

Body hair transplant is an advanced procedure and so it is comparatively a lengthy surgery. It requires a highly experienced and skilled surgeon to perform these types of advanced hair transplant procedures. If the donor is not properly selected and it doesn’t blend with the recipient area then this may lead to a compromised result. Dr. Sangay with years of experience has been providing desired results as she knows which donor graft to be used and where and how to mix body hair with scalp hair to provide better density results.

• Procedure

Anesthesia
Infiltration of the local anesthesia is generally used once the donor area is marked and defined. A tumescence mixture of local anesthesia is used to have adequate turgor of the tissue. This also helps in harvesting over a larger area without exceeding the limit of the local anesthesia dose as the tumescent mixture is low concentration with more volume. Some surgeons prefer using longer-acting local anesthesia medicine. One can use premedication which may relieve the anxiety and also make the patient more comfortable.

Extraction
This step can be performed using either manual punches or motorized FUE instruments. For the body hairs, comparatively finer punches are used like 0.7 to 0.9 depending on the site and caliber of the hair to be harvested.

Generally, body hair follicles are single hair follicles so the number of grafts that are required may be more.

One should keep in mind that body hair generally exits at a more acute angle and they are at less depth in the dermis as compared to the scalp follicle. So, the doctor should try to match this basic anatomy while extracting to avoid the transaction of the grafts.

Implantation
The method of implantation is essentially the same as that of the scalp-to-scalp hair transplant. It is always better to mix the scalp hair with the body hair to cover the behind area of the scalp and the crown area. This provides good density, coverage, and overall results.

Once the procedure is complete the donor site of the body hair is covered with antibiotic ointment. No bandage is required on the body hair donor area.

• Complications

The general complications of the scalp-to-scalp hair transplant and the complications that can happen in the recipient area can also happen in the body hair transplant. Although these are rare the common side effects that are encountered are:


1. Hypopigmentation or light spots may occur at the site from where the follicles are extracted from the beard. This is generally more noticeable in persons with darker skin. It is always advisable to harvest the grafts from under the chin so that it is less noticeable.

2. Keloid: keloid can form in the donor sites especially if the harvesting is done in the sternal area. One should always inquire about the keloid formation during history taking and clinical examination. It is also good to avoid harvesting from the mid-chest or sternal area.

3. Other complications that are likely to occur are folliculitis and ingrowing hair due to the burying of the graft.

• Key points to remember :
•  The difference in the growth cycle of body hairs from scalp hairs
• Body hair often has a lower diameter than the hair on the scalp
• The follicular unit from the scalp may consist of 1,2,3 or 4 hairs but the follicular unit from other body parts may generally have a single hair
• Extraction of hair follicles

• Source - https://hairnsenses.co.in/Body-Hair-Transplant.php

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