Curious...how does the hair remain secure and intact after HT surgery?

[gtz101]

Just keen to know, once the surgeon makes incisions/holes in the scalp and grafts are put in, how does it remain secure and intact afterwards??? Wouldn't they just fall out if you touched it or just grow and fall out? For the purposes of this thread by "afterwards" I mean 1,2,12, 15 months and beyond.

 

I mean its not like these grafts and glued into the scalp or anything so how does it remain secure just like native hair?

[youngsuccess]

GTZ101,

 

From Bernstein Medical:

 

 

The follicular unit not only consists of a small group of hair follicles, but it also contains nerves, blood vessels and a tiny muscle called the erector pilorum (this is the same muscle that makes a cat's hairs stand on end when it wants to look threatening). The whole unit is packaged in collagen that surrounds it and makes the follicular unit a distinct structure.

 

Because follicular units are a complete anatomic and physiologic structures, keeping them intact during the hair transplant will ensure their maximum survival and growth.

 

 

The grafts are surgically transplanted into the scalp, and as the recipient incision sites heal the follicular units are permanently secured.

 

Best,

 

Anthony (youngsuccess)

[gtz101]

ah ok. Thats much clearer now, thanks.

[Megatron]

a doctor would be best to answer this Q.

 

my understanding is the hair follicle itself is irrelevant as they will grow, die and regrow. the grafts taken from the donor area are programmed to produce one hair follicle after another for the rest of your life. you can't knock these grafts out after 5 days unless you take a knife to the area.

 

the issue really is what percentage of the implanted grafts will actually grow hair or not. most docs say >90%, but that doesn't mean that's what a patient always gets. if you search through the blogs you'll see many patients that had far less than 90% graft yield.

 

does that mean their docs/techs screwed up or was it something with their individual characteristics? I guess that's the mystery no one is 100% sure about.

 

I think that's why it's so important for someone choosing a doctor to scrutinize the results of their past patients.