Hair loss or female pattern Alopecia is not very common . It is usually associated with genetic cause of androgenic Alopecia apart from menstrual disturbances, thyroid disorder, iron deficiency, stress , post delivery etc It gives tremendous psychological trauma to the female . The only available solution for female pattern baldness is FUE hair transplant.Although the procedure is similar in both male and female there is a big limitation in case of females because they can not go full head of shaven look . In the case of females we only trim small patches of the back side of the scalp (donor area ) so there is always limitation of availability of grafts but most of the time it is sufficient to cover the bald spot . Nowadays many female come to bloom hair transplant to advance their hairline.
Female pattern hair loss is multifactorial and most of the times many causes may coexist in the same patient .Common triggers for severe hair loss include recent child birth, recent febrile illness , rapid weight loss , medicine like OC pill , thyroid etc . Female pattern hair loss rarely causes total balding , but many times they have diffuse thinning making it technically more difficult to operate . Surgery is more challenging in females and hence experience and expertise are needed . Hair implantation in between hair is more difficult .Surgery is also difficult because of entangling of hairs . Results are also more often delayed .
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The hair transplant procedure for men and women is the same but the only difference is that in females we don’t need to shave off their whole head . Hair follicles are extracted either by FUT or FUE technique.
FUT – In follicular unit transplant a long narrow strip of skin is removed from the back side of the scalp (safe permanent donor area ) which is then divided into hair grafts . Donor area is then sutured .
FUE – In follicular unit extraction individual follicular units containing 1 to 4 hairs are removed using micro punches of between 0.7 to 1 mm in diameter.
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Grafts can be implanted by any of the following 3 methods
1) Pre-made slits which are done by razor blade or sp 90 blade , CTS blade or 18/19/20 size needles .
2) Stick and place method – where site is created and simultaneously implantation is done Hypodermic needles of 18/19/20 size or surgical blades are used .
3) Implanter technique- It is quick and easy but one has to load the grafts into the Implanter so more assistants are required. e.g. Choi Implanter , sava Implanter
a) Females who have not had any improvement after taking medical treatment for long time
b) Female who have significant thinning
c) Scarring Alopecia
d) Females with realistic expectations.
a) Women who have unrealistic expectations to achieve full head of thick hair
b) Females who have diffuse thinning which affects even the potential donor area .So it is important to explain that we are not changing the number of hairs on the head but we are only redistributing the existing hair . Therefore we can achieve more fullness areas of greatest cosmetic importance.
Patient may experience pain , postoperative swelling , paraesthesia , redness itching however patient is always on antibiotic and painkillers so incidence is very low or almost negligible.
It takes 3 months to start the result ,6 months to see a significant difference and 9 to 12 months to see the complete result.
It varies from person to person but it entirely depends on the graft requirement.
Yes . It is one of the most preferred treatments with the highest success rate .
No. Female hair transplant does not have any effect on fertility or female sexual function.
Any age after 21 yrs upto 70 years is the ideal age for hair transplant provided the candidate is healthy fit and not having any major illness
This procedure is done under local anesthesia. We use the smallest size needles to give local anesthesia. We also use cryo pain numbing devices and vibrators to have absolutely no pain .
Dr Vinod Sonawane is MD hair transplant surgeon having experience of more than 14 years and have operated more than 5000 successful hair transplant surgeries till date . He believes in treating each patient with personal attention. Bloom hair transplant does all services at affordable prices