Questions to Put to Your Hair Transplant Surgeon

It is very often the case that as with any type of medical procedure, the more you know, the better off you will be. And this applies to hair transplants just like any other form of treatment. The days when people willingly remained in the dark about their own bodies are long gone, and they want to know as much as possible about their bodies, treatments and conditions. An educated and well informed person then becomes an active member in his or her own health care, which can only be beneficial, both to the patient and to the doctor, as no one knows their bodies more than the patients themselves.

There are many questions often asked by people wanting to find out more about hair transplants, and the following are just some of them along with the answers:

* Whose hair will it be transplanted onto my head? - unlike in cases of organ transplants, with a hair transplant you are your own donor. You donate your hair from what are known as your donor sites.

* Where are these donor sites found? - the areas of the donor sites are those which have no loss of hair or no thinning of the hair. A man generally loses the hair from the top and crown of his head, but very seldom does he lose it from the sides. It would therefore be from these areas that the donation of hair is taken, along with the follicles and some surrounding tissue.

* Does the amount of donor hair available determine how good a candidate I would be for a hair transplant ? - yes, this would be one of the most important criteria used to determine whether or not you can have a successful transplant and benefit from the procedure. It is important to remember that the hair, follicles, and tissue removed from donor areas is gone forever. However, this removal doesn't mean that you are left with a massive gaping bald spot in your donor area, so don't be alarmed. The areas around the donor areas are stitched together and it should be nearly impossible to see any difference.

* What happens to my donor hair during the procedure? - once the donated hair has been extracted, it is transplanted to the bald parts of your scalp, into already prepared tiny slots which the surgeon has created with his or her surgical tools. The donated hair, follicles, and tissue, known as a graft, contains one or more hair follicles, (ideally no more than four).

* Does the difference in hair density factor into your ability to have a successful hair transplant? - hair density is the number of hair follicles you have per square centimeter of scalp, whereas hair laxity is the flexibility and looseness of your scalp. It is possible to carry out more hair grafts when density of hair is high, and your scalp laxity is high.

* Does the direction of your natural hair growth affect hair transplantation? - your hair does not all grow in the one direction. It grows in specific directions on different areas of you head,. For example, it grows forward at the front and top, down or away, from the middle of the head on the sides, and back and down in the back of the head. It is crucial that hair is transplanted so that it will grow in the proper direction for the new area it will now be growing in.

It is very important that you are aware of all the facts before entering into any medical procedure, and the above are just a few of the questions you may wish to put to your surgeon.