Hair Transplant Hair Transplant Balding or thinning hair is a natural process that can profoundly affect men's, and occasionally women's, appearance and self-confidence. The condition is typically brought on by aging or shifts in hormonal levels. Hair transplants cosmetically disguise this process by moving healthy hair to the balding or thinning areas of the head. Men with a reasonable amount of hair on the sides and back of their head can expect hair transplant procedures to provide them with a more natural looking, fuller head of hair. A surgeon typically performs an average of 50 hair grafts per session.
Many doctors combine grafts with tissue expansion.
This latter procedure involves inserting a balloon expander under the skin of hair-growing areas. Over the course of seven to ten weeks, the expander is gradually filled with saline solution, causing the hair-bearing portion of the scalp to expand and create new skin cells. A subsequent procedure allows the surgeon to gently stretch the newly expanded skin over a larger portion of the head. Flap surgery has been performed on men for over two decades. In this procedure, the surgeon removes a strip of bald scalp and replaces it with a strip of hair-bearing scalp.