Nowadays, more and more people are thinking of solving their baldness problem with a transplant, but they are not aware of the risks of hair transplantation.
Hair transplant is a surgical operation that transfers hair from the donor area to the recipient area. It is also known as an autotransplantation, since the hair that is transplanted is your own and not from other people. In short, what is done is to move hair from one area of the head to another.
In fact, baldness generally affects the upper part of the head and does not usually affect the sides and the nape. With the transplant technique we will move part of the hair from the nape of the neck to the upper area affected by baldness.
But the transplant is not a 100% safe operation, since it has several risks and contraindications that it is good to know before undergoing this procedure.
Complications due to transplant planning
Hair transplantation can have complications already in the planning stage, that is, before the operation itself. We list the main ones.
1 Alopecia not suitable for transplant
Not all alopecias can find a solution in the transplant. For example, in autoimmune diseases such as alopecia areata, transplantation is totally useless.
In fact, as we explained before, in the transplant the hair is transferred from a donor area to a recipient area. Alopecia areata can affect the entire head or just some areas and changes position over time.
Therefore, we will not have a stable area, but spots that move from one position to another or even affect the entire head. For this reason, not a single doctor will accept a transplant as a solution to an alopecia areata problem.
2 Insufficient donor area
Another important complication that can arise before the operation and that will make it impossible is insufficient hair in the donor area.
In fact, if we are affected by very high baldness, the donor area will not have enough bulbs to ensure adequate coverage of the recipient area, and this will affect the operation.
In these cases, the doctor and his staff will advise us that, unfortunately, the transplant is not the right one to solve our problem.
3 Use of anti-inflammatories in the previous week
If in the week before the operation we take anti-inflammatories, unfortunately we will have to suspend the operation. The reason is that anti-inflammatories and aspirin can cause rejection of the transplanted hair.
4 Advance payment scams
It is very rare, but sometimes it happens that we trust companies that fail or simply scam us.
Many companies will get our advance of the money and then they will not carry out the operation. For this reason, it is important that before advancing any money, you inform yourself well about the company that is receiving it.
5 Preoperative panic attacks
Not everyone experiences the operation lightly and calmly. Some people panic or start to be afraid of pain or fear of complications. Or simply, they panic because they fear that the final result will not be natural.
Risks during and after transplant surgery
There are also risks related to the operation phase and others to the postoperative period. Let’s analyze the most important ones to understand what we are going to face if we decide to have a hair transplant.
During surgery, the risks are as follows.
1 Pain
This is a surgical operation that consists of the removal of a layer of skin from the nape of the neck and the posterior insertion of the bulbs in the hairless area. All this entails pain, which in some cases can be very high. That is why it is necessary for the surgeon to be accompanied by a good anesthetist and for the operation to be performed in a sterile environment and in a specialized clinic.
Many people perform transplants in Turkey or other developing countries, but surely you can understand the potential risk faced by people who choose these types of places to carry out the procedure.
Hair transplant is a surgical operation and, like any surgical operation, it has significant risks, so it must be performed by specialist doctors who can resolve any emergency and who work in safe and sterile environments.
2 Bleeding
A significant percentage of patients may have excessive bleeding, which can cause the so-called popping… This is the name given to when the grafted hair comes out of the skin pushed by the blood.
In these cases, the anesthesiologist must intervene professionally and promptly, managing vasoconstriction and regulating tumescence.
3 Panic attacks
Nobody talks about them, but they happen to several patients and can be the cause of the failure of the operation. In fact, some patients, due to fear or pain, suffer from panic attacks during the operation.
In these cases, the doctor and his team must intervene with professionalism and empathy to calm the patient. In some cases it will even be necessary to increase the dose of anesthetic in order to continue with the procedure.
Risks after hair transplant surgery
1 Infection
Although rare, both during and after the operation, the patient may be exposed to infection. That is why it is very important to assess the patient’s health status (if he is immunosuppressed, he is at high risk), clean and sterilize the surgical environment, and assess the intake of protective antibiotics to be taken after surgery.
2 Necrosis of the skin
More widespread with the FUT technique than with FUE, it consists of the death of the skin and infected tissues, which is called necrosis.
The skin becomes red, warm, and sometimes swollen. The affected person has severe pain and a high fever, so the doctor must intervene to avoid very serious problems.
3 Dermoid cyst
The insertion of the bulbs in the skin can produce cysts, both due to surgical inexperience and due to the excessive immune response of the patient. These cysts are small masses of flesh, hard and evident to the touch and sight, mostly benign but unsightly and difficult to treat.
4 Frontal edema and ecchymosis
Very widespread in the postoperative period are bruises and swellings, which are usually reabsorbed after a week. Therefore, they are a minor contraindication but one that must be known so as not to be scared when it occurs.
5 Postoperative effluvium
One of the most feared and widespread effects of hair transplantation is postoperative effluvium. In practice, the transplanted hair in the recipient area falls out and grows back after 3 months, but finer and less thick, thus affecting the good aesthetic result of the intervention.
6 Irregular skin surface
This problem depends on the lack of skill of the surgeon, who will have inserted the bulb too deep or too superficial.
In the first case, the skin has a hole also called pitting. In the second case, a protuberance, which is defined as tending.
7 Wrong angle of hair growth
In some cases, the surgeon will insert the hair at the wrong angle and this will cause an unnatural effect of the transplant. That is why a good surgeon is the key element for a successful hair transplant.
8 Poor hair growth
Undoubtedly, the greatest risk when deciding on this technique is the fact that few hairs grow in the receiving area and they are not enough to ensure the patient the hair and density that they consider adequate to solve their baldness problem.
- Poor growth depends on several factors:
- The donor area was insufficient to ensure a good aesthetic result.
- Rejection and loss of part of the implanted hair.
- Increase in androgenetic alopecia that makes the transplant useless (remember that androgenetic alopecia is a pathology that, if not stopped at age 30, can increase year after year).
Excessive expectation on the part of the patient, who believed that he could have the same hair as before.
Skin patch: why it is better than hair transplant
As we have seen, hair transplantation is currently an option to combat baldness, but it has several contraindications and in many ways it is not a solution.
If you want to recover the hair of yesteryear, with the same density, the same naturalness and without risks and dangers, currently the best option is undoubtedly the skin patch. In fact, it ensures you thick and completely natural hair, quickly, cheaply and painlessly.
Current and modern hair prostheses are totally invisible and imperceptible, allowing you an active and sporty life.
With them you can swim, sleep, comb your hair back and play sports even at a competitive level. In addition, unlike hair transplants, they do not have any risk to your health and if they bother you, you can remove them without the slightest problem.
So if you suffer from baldness and alopecia prevents you from seeing yourself as you would like, before thinking about a hair transplant, I suggest you look at the modern hair prostheses that we have in the NewLacecu catalogue. Without a doubt, you will be surprised how natural they are and how they allow you to have a totally active and sporty life.
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