Hair loss is a delicate issue that affects millions of men and women worldwide. In the past sufferers could do little about the effect of baldness bar investing in a toupee or simply wearing more hats. Thankfully however hair transplant technology has developed through years offering sufferers an alternative to traditional methods of coping with hair loss.
At the disposal of the medical industry today are a number of different hair transplant methods that serve the purpose of restoring hair to bald segments of the scalp. Before anyone should go in for surgery however it is vitally important to research and understand the different procedures out there. Equally, it is a good idea for any potential patients to talk to different surgeons, gaining an idea of the types of transplant procedure they would advise. As always, receiving a professional opinion is a good idea.
The first forays into hair transplant technology took place in the nineteen thirties. It was in Japan where these investigations were made, predominantly by a dermatologist named Dr Okuda. Okuda developed the idea of taking grafts from healthy sections of the scalp and transplanting them to affected areas. After the war years, Okuda’s work was continued with the further development of micro grafting techniques.
In the nineteen fifties, America got in on the act of hair transplant technology. With further understanding of how baldness affects the scalp, medical professionals realised that the best place from which to take grafts were the back and sides of the head. As a result of further precision and procedural knowledge a large and somewhat lucrative industry began to emerge, offering hair transplants to baldness sufferers. However, at this time in the evolution of hair transplant technology the results were still relatively poor. Recovery time and scarring were a considerable problem and the results rarely looked natural.
Further refinement and development of techniques occurred during the eighties and nineties. Micro grafting became somewhat of standard procedure within the industry and results were improved by the introduction of mini micro grafting. This improvement to the original micro grafting technique was more accurate and utilised smaller grafts to reduce the effects of scarring. Since the turn of the century however a new method has become popular, this is follicular unit transplantation. FUT is used because it transplants follicles individually doing away with the need for incisions; the technique compliments and adds to the existing hairline producing natural looking results.
This article has attempted to detail the evolution of hair transplant technology throughout the previous century and beyond. From meagre beginnings in Japan, the techniques and methods used have been developed producing evermore impressive results.
About the Author
Tom Pretty has written extensively on the subject of hair transplant technology and in this article takes a particular focus on the history of the various techniques and processes that have been utilised in the past.