Evolution of Hair Restoration Surgery: Donor Dominance and Follicular Unit Transplantation
July 2008
in “
Facial Plastic Surgery Clinics of North America
”
hair restoration surgery donor dominance follicular unit transplantation hairline design donor site preparation local anesthesia postoperative care hair regrowth vasovagal reactions hypertension lidocaine toxicity postoperative bleeding bacterial infection graft survival optical density hair transplant post-op care high blood pressure post-op bleeding
TLDR Hair restoration surgery redistributes existing hair to achieve a natural look, with visible regrowth in 3-4 months and rare complications, mostly aesthetic.
The document from 15 years ago discussed the evolution of hair restoration surgery, emphasizing the concept of donor dominance and the use of follicular unit transplantation for natural-looking results. The procedure involved two sessions, each with 1000 to 2500 grafts, separated by 6 to 12 months. The process included designing the hairline, preparing the donor site, grafting under local anesthesia, and postoperative care. Hair regrowth usually started to regenerate visible hair in 3 to 4 months. Complications were rare but could include patient anxiety, vasovagal reactions, hypertension, lidocaine toxicity, postoperative bleeding, and bacterial infection. Long-term complications were predominantly aesthetic in nature and involved poor graft survival, poor design, and inappropriate patient selection. The document emphasized that hair restoration is about redistributing existing hair rather than creating new hair, and achieving optical density rather than original density is the goal.
