Women’s hair loss is an emotionally charged issue. In the past, the hair restoration industry often ignored the female hair-loss
patient, deeming her as too
emotional and requiring too much holding. Furthermore the old technology handicapped a hair-transplant surgeon’s ability to achieve the best result for women. Women rarely go completely bald, so a factor in achieving positive result was not to damage existing hairs. With the dawn of microscopic follicular unit grafting and the development of finer, more precise instrumentation, this is no longer concern for a limitation to treating women who present with classic female pattern hair loss.Another advancement that improved a woman’s surgical candidacy is the new surgical technique used for harvesting the donor strip that leaves a single donor scar regardless of the number of surgical sessions performed. Today, donor-strip-removal techniques preserve the density of the donor area while providing greater density to thinning areas.Women with scalp- hair loss should always be screened by performing an appropriate history and physical examination. If there are any signs or symptoms that suggest endocrine or dermatologic causes, they must be investigated appropriately or referred to another specialist for this purpose. It is also important to rule out temporary hair loss caused by severe emotional or physical stress. From the surgical point of view, the most important factor is assessing the donor hair. A female
patient must have a favorable donor area to recipient area hair-density ratio. Also it is most importance the procedure’s emotional component and the patient’s realistic expectations. Because hair growth typically begins 4 months postoperatively, but does not reach optional growth until 15th months after surgery.Patients must be given full disclosure of potential risks and complications associated with hair transplantations, such as postoperative forehead swelling and shock to some of the existing hair in the donor area surrounding the incision and in the recipient area. A well-informed patient is the best patient. Microscopic follicular-unit hair transplantation is an intricate, detailed, and highly planned surgical process and procedure.
Craig L. Ziering, DO, is a hair-restoration surgeon and merical director Ziering Medical, based in Newport Beach, California.He can be reached via his Web site, www.zieringmedical.com