Transplantation to the eyebrows is a procedure designed to restore growing hair to eyebrows that are overly thin, scarred, or completely missing. The absence of hair can be due to genetics, prior electrolysis or laser hair removal, over plucking, thyroid other hormonal abnormalities, trauma due to surgery, burns or other types of accidents. Some patients seek to have full, thick eyebrows, others a subtle thickening, while others to have a scar made less visible.
The donor hairs come from the scalp, when transplanted into the eyebrows, continue to grow for a lifetime and therefore need to be trimmed typically once a month. To provide a natural appearance, the hairs are transplanted primarily one and occasionally two at a time, the natural way eyebrow hairs grow. This is a very delicate procedure, requiring perfect placement of these hairs into tiny (half-millimeter) incisions that are angled at just the right direction and positioned to mimic natural growth. The use of all-microscopically dissected grafts allows their placement into the smallest possible incisions so as to minimize scarring and damage to already existing hairs.
A procedure typically involves the placement of 50 to as many as 325 hairs into each eyebrow, depending upon the existing amount of hair and the desired size and density. Performed usually under a mild local sedative for the 2-hour procedure. For the first 2 to 4 days after the procedure, tiny crusts are around each transplanted hair. By 3 to 5 days, other than some occasional mild pinkness, which fades out by the first week, patients are able to return to normal activities. Sutures that are placed in the donor area are removed at 1 week. The transplanted hairs fall out at around 2 weeks, and then start to regrow at 3 months, where they will continue to grow for a lifetime.
There are few risks with the procedure, and most are those associated with standard hair transplants. The donor site incision, usually 1 to 2 inches long, typically heals as a 2 mm wide incision, easily concealable with existing hair in the area. Occasionally a few hairs grow in less than the ideal direction- these few hairs can be plucked out if desired or sometimes trained to grow in just the right direction.
Eyelash Hair Transplant
Eyelash hair transplantation is a relatively new procedure that originally was used to treat areas of the eyelid that have no eyelashes due to genetics, alopecia, or trauma such as that from cancer surgery or burns. Recently, however, Dr. Garbutt has been using the procedure to thicken and enhance the appearance of the eyelashes, for individuals who already have eyelashes.
The donor hairs come from the scalp which, when become eyelashes, continue to grow for a lifetime and therefore need to be trimmed typically once a month. To provide a natural appearance, the hairs are transplanted one a time. This is a very delicate procedure, requiring perfect placement of these hairs that are angled at just the right direction and position to mimic natural growth.
A procedure typically involves the placement of 25 to as many as 50 hairs into each upper eyelid, depending upon the existing amount of hair and the desired size and density. Performed usually under a mild oral sedative for the 2 hour procedure. For the first 3 to 4 days after the procedure, tiny crusts are around each transplanted hair, and there can be some pinkness and/or mild swelling to the eyelids. By 3 to 5 days, other than some residual mild pinkness, which fades out by the first week, patients are able to return to normal activities. Sutures that are placed in the donor area are removed at 1 week. The transplanted hairs fall out at around 2 weeks, and then start to regrow at 3 months, where they will continue to grow for a lifetime.
There are few risks with the procedure, and most are those associated with standard hair transplants. The donor site incision, 1 inch long, typically heals as a less than 2 mm wide incision, easily concealable with existing hair in the area. The main thing for patients to understand is that the hairs do need to be manually curled so that they grow in a sloping curved direction as normal eyelash hair, and that some hairs may grow in a less than ideal direction- these hairs can be trimmed very short or sometimes trained to grow in just the right direction.
Facial hair transplantation is a procedure designed to restore hair to the beard sideburn or mustache region to thicken the existing hair or to provide hair growth where there is none. The absence of hair could be due to genetics, prior electrolysis or laser hair removal, or even trauma due to surgery, burns or other types of accidents. Some patients seek to have a full, thick beard, sideburn or mustache, others desire a fuller goatee, while others seek to have hair placed into a visible scar.
The donor hairs come from the scalp, which are essentially identical in their texture and growth to the beard, sideburn or mustache hairs. Once transplanted, the hairs are permanent, and need to be shaved (if desired) just like the other hairs. To provide a completely natural appearance, the hairs are transplanted as one and two hair grafts, the natural way beard hair grows. Other steps taken to assure naturalness include the careful placement of the grafts at the exact correct angle, the use of all-microscopically dissected grafts that can be placed in the smallest possible incisions so as to minimize scarring, and even the aesthetic distribution of any existing gray hairs into the restored areas.
A procedure typically involves the placement of 200 to as many as 2200 one and two hair grafts, depending upon the desired density and the size of the areas to be covered. Performed usually under a local sedative, the 3 to 4 hour procedure is essentially painless, as is the recovery period. For the first 4 days after the procedure, tiny crusts are around each transplanted hair. By 5 days, other than some occasional mild pinkness, which fades out over the next 3 days, patients are able to return to normal activities without any sign of having had a procedure. Sutures that are placed in the donor area are removed at 8 to 10 days. The transplanted hairs fall out at around 2 weeks, and then start to regrow at 3 months, where they will continue to grow for a lifetime.
There are few risks with the procedure, and most are those associated with standard hair transplants. The donor site incision typically heals as a 2 mm wide incision, easily concealable with the existing hair.
