HAIR TRANSPLANTATION SURGERY RISKS RESULTS

The areas involved in transplantation may need to be bandaged overnight. People can return to normal activities within a day. Strenuous activities should be avoided in the first few days after the surgery. On rare occasions, the implants can be ejected from the scalp during vigorous exercise. There may be some swelling, bruising,  headache, and discomfort around the graft areas and around the eyes. These symptoms can usually be controlled  with a mild pain reliever such as aspirin. Scabs may form at the graft sites and should not be scraped off. There may be some numbness at the sites, but it will diminish within two to three months. Risks
Although there are rare cases of infection or scarring, the major risk is that the grafted area might not look the way the patient expected it to look.

Normal results
The transplanted hair will fall out within a few weeks; however, new hair will start to grow in the graft sites within about three months. A normal rate of hair growth is about 0.25–0.5 in (6–13 mm) per month.

Morbidity and mortality rates
Major complications as a result of hair transplantation are extremely rare. Occasionally, a person may have problems with delayed healing, infection, scarring, or rejection of the graft; but these are uncommon.

Alternatives
There are several alternatives to hair transplantation. The two most common include lotions containing drugs and wigs. As of 2003, only lotions containing Minoxidil or Finasteride actually grow any new hair. This does not occur for all users. The new hair Minoxidil grows is usually only a light fuzz on the crown of the head. When Minoxidil treatment is discontinued, the fuzz disappears, in addition to any hairs that were supposed to die during treatment. In some cases, Finasteride does grow thick, strong, long-growing hair on the crown. Wigs and hairpieces have been used for centuries.They are available in a wide price range, the more expensive ones providing more realistic appearance than less expensive models.

See also Plastic, reconstructive, and cosmetic surgery.