Tag: cosmetic surgery

How to Find a Good Hair Transplant Surgeon

There is no law in the US that requires a doctor to have any special credentials to perform hair transplant surgery, other than basic licensing as a physician. This leaves many potential candidates for the surgery in the dark. It is difficult to know the difference between a good hair transplant surgeon and an inexperienced one.

If you know someone who has had hair transplant surgery, you have at least one person to whom you can go for advice. You will know from looking at their hair whether the job was done well. You can ask the person whether you were treated professionally. That person will also know how much the total cost was, and if there were any hidden fees.

You might not know anyone who has had a hair transplant procedure. In this case, you might go to the telephone directory. This is just a starting point. Many of the doctors who advertise there are simply trying to start up a practice in the field. They may have little or no experience. This is just a way to get names that you can check out.

When you contact a hair restoration surgeon, ask to see a portfolio of patients’ photos before and after hair transplant surgery. You should be suspicious if you are shown less than a dozen or so sets of pictures. This may mean the doctor does not have much experience to brag about. The pictures should be of good quality so that you can really see what kind of job was done.

Next, ask for names and phone numbers of patients the surgeon has treated. A doctor who has done many successful hair transplant procedures will have a list of people willing to talk about their experience. You can call each one and ask about how the procedure went for them.

Be aware that not all hair transplant doctors are scrupulous businesspeople. Many will try to fool you into believing they are more experienced than they are. Sometimes, they will try to make you believe they do better work than they do. They will show you pictures that are not true examples of their own work.

They might show you photos that they have taken using lighting tricks to make the hair look thicker and healthier than it is. It is often hard to spot such tricks, but knowing that some surgeons do them will help you to watch out for them.

You will get some good advice if you go to certain associations for assistance. The International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons will give you information on surgeons that are affiliated with them. The American Academy of Dermatology is another fine institution that has data on hair transplant surgeons.

The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery is known for supporting good cosmetic surgery, which hair transplant procedures are. Finally, the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery deals exclusively with these types of procedures.

It can be quite difficult to find the right surgeon to do your hair transplant procedure. Do not give up. There are plenty of skilled surgeons who can perform these operations well. You just need to take the time you need to find them.

Are Women Good Candidates for Hair Transplant Surgery?

Balding is not just a men’s problem; women often lose hair as they get older as well. You might wonder, if that is the case, why more women do not have hair transplant surgery. You may be surprised to know that many women are not good candidates.

Women usually have a different type of hair loss than men. Male pattern baldness uncovers parts of the top of the head. However, the sides and back of the head are usually covered with healthy balding-resistant hair follicles.

Men with this pattern of balding will have donor hair that survives the hair transplant process and flourishes long afterward. That is because a naturally-occurring enzyme in the body combines with testosterone to create a chemical called DHT. This chemical is responsible for the hair loss on the tops of men’s heads when they have male pattern baldness.

However, it does not affect the back and sides of their hair in most cases. These areas have healthy hair follicles and make excellent donor sites for hair transplant surgery. These are called stable sites because they remain unchanged over time rather than shrinking like the hair follicles affected by DHT do.

Female pattern baldness is different. In most cases, they do not have large areas of stable balding-resistant hair follicles. The sides and back of their hair tends to thin just as the front and top of the head do. The DHT affects all the areas of their hair.

Any hair follicles that are affected by DHT will simply fall out if they are moved by hair transplant procedures. Moving them from one place to another does not affect the basic nature of the hair follicle.

Also, women do not have the problem of receding hairlines in most cases. Their hair is lost in a more diffuse manner, thinning uniformly all over the head. It is not so much where their hair is that is the problem, but how much they have. Hair transplant surgery will not correct this problem. It is best used to move hair from one place to another.

There is a very small percentage – about 5% of all women with baldness problems – who are good candidates for hair transplant surgery. The thing that all these women have in common is that they all have healthy areas of hair follicles that can be used as donor sites.

For example, women with mechanical or traction Alopecia have lost their hair because they have scratched their head for a long period of time, they have used tight rollers or their hair has been pulled or stretched in any manner. These women almost always have an area of their hair that is unaffected. If they do, they can have hair transplant procedures.

Some women have cosmetic surgery and suffer hair loss around the incision sites. In these cases, hair transplant surgery can help. Other women actually have a pattern of hair loss that is similar to male pattern baldness. These women are able to have the surgery, too.

Finally, women who have suffered trauma from accidents or burns are good candidates for hair transplant procedures. If you are a woman with balding problems, is worth the time to consult with a doctor to find out if you are one of the women who can benefit from hair transplant surgery.

Costs and Financing Options for Hair Transplant Procedures?

Hair transplant surgery would not be considered cheap by most people. In fact, some people cannot afford to have it done at all. However, a great number of people have the option of getting financing for their procedures.

The costs for hair transplant surgery vary from doctor to doctor. They even vary within one doctor’s practice. A common quote for hair transplants is between $2 and $10 per graft. The reason for the wide variance is mainly because the price per graft decreases the more grafts you have done.

Often, the price per hair transplant session is quoted. This may be a lunchtime session. For example, 200 grafts may be done in a short session for $2000. That equals $10 per graft, of course, but you are getting a special time slot, and a very low number of grafts per session.

Prices for specialty hair transplant work tend to be higher as well. For the grafts that are taken from body hair, the price per graft may be anywhere from $12 to $15. Facial hair grafts for those who have lost eyebrows or eyelashes are also high, at $11 to $15. These are specialized procedures.

Follicular Unit Extraction hair transplant costs more than micro-grafts. FUE may cost as much as $15 per graft. Mega-sessions in which large numbers of grafts are completed at one time are cheaper per graft. Figured into the fee is the use of highly skilled technicians to help the doctor.

Repair work is also done at a per graft price. This includes taking out hair plugs from past hair transplant procedures gone wrong. The price may be around $12 per graft when other grafts are being put in at the same time. If the plugs are just being removed, the price is higher, about $15 per graft. Scar revision surgery is usually done at a flat fee, perhaps around $1000 for the procedure.

The normal hair transplant procedure will cost differently depending on the number of grafts even though the cost per graft goes down the more grafts you have. For example, 100 grafts may cost you $1500, while 3000 grafts may cost about $12,000. The price per graft goes down, but the amount of money you have to come up with soars.

This is why many people finance their hair transplant surgeries. To get the results they want, they would have to come up with more money than they can gather at one time. Some examples of financing options are credit cards, finance companies, and bank loans.

Some finance companies are geared especially to people who are getting cosmetic surgery. They may offer loans with no proof of income, available within a day or two of the application. You can finance your entire hair transplant operation with no down payment. You may get 12 months same as cash or 12% interest on a 36 month loan.

Hair transplant is costly, but with the right financing, you can do it if you choose to do it. Financing gives you the opportunity to use the doctor you want to do, have the procedures done as quickly as possible, and have as many procedures done as possible.

What Is Breast Augmentation?

Women have been trying to improve on what nature provided them for as long as men have noticed. The early methods consisted of padding inside the clothing. This only worked as long as the clothes remained on.

In 1895 the first implant was performed. The substances used for these early implants left much to be desired. It wasnt until 1961 that silicone implants were developed. The saline implants followed in 1964. There have been other substances developed, but none as common today as saline and silicone.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, breast augmentations are the most common type of cosmetic surgery performed in America. 329,000 breast augmentations were done in 2006.

The breast augmentation surgery typically lasts one to two hours. The visits between patient and surgeon before the surgery are usually spent discussing the type of procedure which will be used. The differences are in the type of implant, the incision thats required and where it will be placed. Also discussed is where the placement of the actual implant will be made. These factors have an impact on the final appearance as well as possible complications.

Within a week of the surgery, normal work or school routines are able to be resumed by most implant patients. Of course this does somewhat depend on the level of activity these routines require. The incision scar from the surgery will probably last six weeks or longer. The scars should start fading within a few months.