For men and women who want to reverse the effects of hair loss, we offer both surgical and nonsurgical options for hair restoration at our Atlanta practice. Hair transplant is a time-tested method for using your own hair to fill in areas of thinning or baldness. Over time, transplanted hair grows just like natural hair.
New York dermatologist, Dr. Norman Orentreich, discovered the concept and performed the first hair transplants in the western world more than 60 years ago.
Our nonsurgical option, platelet-rich plasma therapy, or PRP, uses an extract derived from your own blood platelets to encourage follicular activity. If you’d like fuller, thicker hair, PRP therapy or a hair transplant from our board-certified dermatologists can help you restore your natural hair and regain your self-confidence.
To learn more about what hair restoration can do for you, request a consultation. Or give us a call at (404) 355-1919.
Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT)
How Does it Work?
Follicular unit transplantation, or FUT, is sometimes called the “strip method” of hair restoration. Although different hair restoration options have come and gone, FUT has long provided consistently pleasing results and is appropriate for a wide variety of patients.
FUT works by removing a thin strip of skin from a predetermined donor site – typically the back of the head. From this donor skin, your physician removes healthy follicular units and transplants them to bald areas. After a period of acclimation, this transplanted hair grows normally and blends well with the surrounding hair.
As you might imagine, surgical hair restoration requires meticulous attention to detail to ensure optimal results.
What Can I Expect?
Today’s hair transplant procedure is a relatively comfortable experience thanks to advanced local anesthesia. However, the process can be time-consuming. During your consultation, your doctor will evaluate the areas you wish to treat and give you a more specific idea of how long your procedure is likely to take.
Once your scalp is anesthetized, your doctor clips the area of the donor’s hair to a shorter length to make it easier to work with. He then carefully removes a thin, shallow strip of skin that’s full of healthy, active follicles. Your doctor places this donor skin in a special solution to keep it alive while he carefully closes the incision with sutures. The team then goes to work removing follicular units, which each contains between 1 and 4 hairs, and transplanting them to bald areas. Our doctors take great care when placing new follicles, ensuring they match the natural wave and growth patterns of your existing hair. This stage of the procedure is usually the most time-consuming, but you’ll be able to get up, use the bathroom, and stretch.
How Will I Look?
Immediately after your hair transplant, the donor incision is bandaged to protect it while it heals. You’ll be advised to keep your head elevated as much as possible to minimize swelling. While you’ll be physically able to return to your routine activities right away, some patients opt to take a few days off work to avoid going out with a bandaged head. This is largely a personal choice.
PRP Therapy
Our preferred option for nonsurgical hair restoration is PRP. This innovative approach has been used for years by medical professionals in a variety of specialties, including orthopedists and plastic surgeons.
How Does It Work?
PRP therapy works by capturing and isolating your blood platelets. These valuable elements of your blood primarily exist to slow and stop bleeding after an injury. But they have other properties, too. Platelets contain growth factors, which nourish a variety of tissues throughout the body. PRP therapy uses your own blood platelets, so there’s very little risk of an adverse reaction. Once isolated, the platelets are injected into your scalp through a fine needle. The platelets go to work nourishing and supporting your hair follicles, stimulating the growth of your own hair.
What Can I Expect?
During a PRP hair restoration treatment, your doctor begins with a simple blood draw. Once enough blood is collected, it’s purified using a special device that isolates blood platelets from other elements of the blood. The platelets are then added to a syringe and injected just beneath the skin of your scalp. We may administer a local anesthetic beforehand to ensure your comfort.
There’s no need to take any time away from work or other daily activities after your procedure, and you can get back to your daily activities immediately.
How Will I Look?
This approach doesn’t require an incision or any part of your head to be shaved, so it’s unlikely that anyone will notice that you’ve had anything done. Most patients require a series of treatments—at least 4, spaced about 1 month apart. You will then get a single maintenance treatment every four to six months thereafter.
| Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) | Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) | |
|---|---|---|
| Length of procedure | Several hours | About 1 hour |
| Downtime | None required although the head will be bandaged | None |
| Scar | The linear scar that is typically well-concealed by hair | None |
| Multiple procedures required? | Usually, 2-3 spaced over 2 years | Yes, series of treatments is often recommended |
| Longevity of results | Results can last indefinitely | Results can last indefinitely with maintenance treatments |
