A. Depending on the size of the procedure it can take anywhere from 2 to 3 1/5 hrs. That is from the time you walk into the clinic.
Q. Does it hurt?
A. The most uncomfortable part of the procedure is when your head is being anesthetized. The Dr. will use a dermajet which is like an air gun, and with a force of air the zylocaine will enter your head (scalp) and numb the entire area (Zylocaine like Novocain). This will be done around the entire head which will take about 1 to 2 min. After the head is completely anesthetized (numbed) you won't feel another thing. You will be sitting up watching TV and talking with the Dr. and staff while the procedure is being done.
Before leaving the clinic the Dr. will give you 2 prescriptions to be filled. One is a pain prescription and the other an antibiotic to prevent infection. There is little chance for infection because there is such a large supply of blood to the head. But it could happen so the Dr. gives you an antibiotic to prevent it from happening. We have never had an infection in the 10 years we have been doing hair transplants.
Q. What is the success rate of grafts that will grow.
A. Dr. Goldstein will tell patients that in any procedure no matter the size one or two grafts may not make it but we have never seen that happen. They all make it. We are proud to say we have 100% success rate.
Q. Why will hair grow in an area where I had lost my hair?
A. If we start at the beginning the reason for pattern baldness or genetic hair loss is that when we are born we may inherit a gene from our mother or father. When we inherit this gene we inherit a substance called dehydrotestosterone D.H.T. It is a plastic like substance that formulates around the hair bulb and restricts the blood from getting in. WITHOUT BLOOD THERE IS NO LIFE. In males this happens in patterns which we can relate to by looking at the Hamilton scale which was designed by Dr. Hamilton which show 7 patterns which we call male pattern baldness. In a woman who inherits the gene it affects every other hair all over her head which means she will thin all over which makes her not a good candidate for hair transplants. On the other hand if a woman's hair loss is located in one area usually on top we call this pattern baldness in which she can become a candidate for the procedure.
Q. How long will the hair last after it has been transplanted?
A. The hair that is transplanted will be with you and grow for the rest of your life. The reason for this is that after going over with you very carefully the history of hair loss problems in your family (your mother and father and what your grandparents hair loss was) to try to determine what your hair loss pattern will be at the age of 40-50-60 or I should say in later life. After we determine this - the existing hair on your head the sides and the back are considered to be donor area. This hair is programmed at birth differently than the top of your head and is not affected with DHT so when we take this hair from the back and sides and transplant it in an area on top where you want your hair, it will grow and grow for the rest of your life.
IT IS NOT THE FIELD IT IS THE TREE. By this we mean that the balled area on top of your head is not the problem if we were to make an incision on top of your head you would bleed. The blood is there it just can't get into the hair papilla (the tree) because it is clogged up with DHT. Without blood there is no life this is the reason for hair loss.
Q. How long after a hair transplant will the hair start growing?
A. Unlike going to a hair club or any other facility that sells hair goods Invissions etc. You don't walk away from a hair transplant looking like you have a full head of hair. The reason for that is we are not transplanting the hair (per-say) we are transplanting the hair papilla and hair follicle which is the factory that produces hair constantly when it is fed the nutrition which is carried to it by the blood. The donor area in back of the head is shared and a strip of skin which houses the hair papilla and follicle is taken - a strip of about a 1/2" in width and the length depends on the size of the session performed. The strip is given to the surgical assistants who will sit down under magnification and dissect the grafts into one to two hair grafts and 3 to 5 hair grafts which are called micro and mini grafts. While the grafts are being dissected the doctor then sutures the back of the head which will leave you with a little scar like in the crease of your hand. Then he will start making incisions in the top of your head where you want the hair to grow. When all the incisions are made and the grafts are all inserted they will bring the grafts to the Dr. and all the grafts will be inserted in the incisions. When all the grafts are in place you will then be brought to a shampoo room where you will be shampooed. All the grafts will stay in place. We sit you up, towel blot your scalp and then put aloe gel to start the healing process. At this time we bring you into the office and go over the post op instructions. Within a week you will feel hair stubbles where the grafts were placed. Normally that is the hair that was left in the transplanted follicle. Within 2 weeks that hair will push up and fall out and the new hair which takes 3-1/2 months to break through the skin will grow forever. It takes 8 months to 1 year to get the full benefit from a hair transplant.
Q. What is the Power Hair Program?
A. A week after the procedure is done we give you a 3 month supply of vitamins and replenisher. The vitamin taken daily will put into your blood stream all the necessary ingredients for growing healthy hair. The replenisher is a vasil dialator, which has 3 times the vasil dialation that Rogaine has and will bring the blood rushing to the scalp. By doing this on a daily basis along with our postoperative care we have found that 85% of our patients keep their transplanted hair growing from the 1st day and have saved them 3-1/2 months of waiting for their hair to grow. Another breakthrough in the art of hair transplantation by Connecticut Hair and Transplant Group.
Q. What is the guarantee?
A. In our disclosure form, which you will sign on surgery day, it states that every hair that we transplant will grow and grow for the rest of your life. If in any case the grafts did not grow the Dr. would do the surgery over at no cost. This has never happened.
POINTS OF INTEREST
Dr. Leon A. Goldstein is a board certified cosmetic surgeon and an active member of the American Board of Hair Restoration.
Each member of our staff has been doing transplants for several years and do all of our procedures in all of our locations so that our work is consistent and undetectable. - REMEMBER, A GOOD HAIR TRANSPLANT IS NOT NOTICEABLE - IT IS NATURAL!
All three of our clinics in Norwalk, Cromwell and New Haven provide monthly seminars and are full service for before and after care of our patients.
Too far away? Ask about our travel reimbursement program.
Still more questions? Call 1-800-745-4247 to book a free consultation or to have more answers. Our primary concern is not only helping you with your hair loss, but also educating you about your hair loss.
Confidentiality ... Discreteness ... Great Care ... Our clients are always #1.
