|
The Nordström Hospital
For Plastic Surgery
Hair Transplantation
Hair
Hair loss is a common problem that affects
a significant part of the adult population. About one-half of 50-year
old men suffer from some degree of hair loss, while it is less common
among women. Male pattern baldness is the most common type of baldness.
Alopecia areata is also quite common. In some cases hair loss can
be also stress-related.
Baldness is so common that some consider it
quite normal in adult males, while others suffer immensely from it.
Many young men who come to our consultations tell us how upsetting
it was to notice that their hair started to fall out and how devastating
it was to realize that it was not coming back. After realizing they
are getting bald, men are faced with the following perspectives: to
remain bald, to wear a hairpiece, or to undergo a hair transplantation.
|
Professor
Nordström introduced
hair transplantations in Finland in 1974
|
Awards
I have been interested in hair transplantation
for a long time. I was the first to introduce hair transplantation
in the Nordic countries in the 1970s and to defend an academic
thesis on this topic. I developed the method of micrografts
for correction of male pattern baldness already in 1978, and
published my invention in 1981 in the scientific journal of
Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.
Nowadays this method is the most important and most widely
used method all over the world for male pattern baldness correction.
When performed by a skilled surgical team, this method can
produce totally natural-looking results.
In 1997 I received "PLATINUM FOLLICLE AWARD" for
the year's best scientific research in hair pathophysiology
and anatomy at the International Society of Hair Restoration
Surgery's annual meeting
|
Method of Hair Transplantation
|
Hair transplantations are routine operations
done daily at our hospital. During the last 28 years we have
done over 20 000 hair transplantations.
To be confident in your choice of a surgeon,
be certain to view the images of the final results operated
by him, as it is not uncommon that some physicians would present
the pictures of the results operated elsewhere (e.g., at the
Nordström Hospital for Plastic Surgery) as their own. Best
of all you can judge about the quality of the transplantation
by the hairline close-up pictures.
The basic principle of hair transplantation
is donor dominance. It means that hair continue to show the
characteristics of the donor site at their new location. This
explains the fact that hair that was transplanted from the permanent
zone in the back of the scalp into the balding area in the front
of the scalp would continue to grow as if it had remained in
the permanent zone. This is the case with male pattern baldness,
female pattern baldness, and hair loss due to trauma.
The best hair transplantation results
of today are achieved with the method of micrografts cut as
follicular units. This method requires a skilled and exceptionally
well-trained surgical team to dissect the follicular units under
the microscope without causing damage to the hairs and to transplant
them into the recipient site. That is why many physicians still
use minigrafts that are bigger in size. This method often creates
a pluggy look and a disturbing scarring, whereas follicular
unit grafts look so natural that even the hairdresser is unable
to see that transplantation took place.
Different methods of surgical hair replacement
were popular at different times. Punch graft transplantation
started the whole boom of hair transplantation, especially for
correction of male pattern baldness. Afterwards scalp reductions
(operations reducing or totally removing the bald area) came
into fashion. Scalp reductions are enhanced by the use of the
Nordström Suture that speeds up the bald area reduction.
At the Nordström hospital we continuously
develop our hair transplantation techniques. It is difficult
to predict the further development of surgical hair replacement,
but already now medical advances have made it possible to split
one hair into two. Probably in the future with the help of different
techniques it will become possible to split one hair into many.
This will allow for successful hair transplantation in patients
with poor donor hair resources creating better possibilities
to satisfy the aesthetic demands of all patients.
Professor Nordström is a pioneer
in his field, and at our hospital we provide you with the most
advanced hair transplantation solutions and the top level of
aesthetic surgery.
|
The hairline we create looks totally
natural.
The basic principle of hair transplantation
is that hair that was transplanted from the permanent zone
in the back of the scalp into the balding area in the front
of the scalp would continue to grow as if it had remained
in the permanent zone for a lifetime.
|
|
All the methods of hair transplantation
used at the Nordström Hospital are safe and provide the
most natural looking results.
The method of hair transplantation is
chosen together with the patient. In some patients we use a
combination of several techniques to achieve the best possible
results. The hair quality, the degree of baldness and the final
result anticipated by the patient all influence the choice of
the hair transplantation technique.
To learn more about the methods of hair
transplantation used at the Nordström Hospital for Plastic
Surgery, please order a free video and a brochure from our web-site.
During the initial consultation professor
Nordström and a specialized nurse discuss the planned procedure
together with the patient. We always book a sufficient time
for a preoperative discussion to thoroughly go through all the
details of the procedure.
Your own, permanently growing hair is the best choice for
baldness correction.
|
|
A case of typical male pattern
baldness.
|
|
The first hair tranplantation
was done on this person already in the 1970's.
|
A close-up of the frontal hairline
of the person shown above. After the hair transplantation surgery
the frontal hairline looks so natural that even the hairdresser
is unable to see that transplantation took place.
|
Micrografts - Megasessions - Follicular Units
|
Hair transplantation is done in local
anaesthesia. The patient is in a half-sitting position in a
comfortable operating chair. He can read, watch TV, listen to
music and even sleep during the operation. He is also allowed
to take a short break, walk a bit, eat and go to the bathroom.
The whole experience is totally painless for the patient. Even
the unpleasant sensation of local anaesthesia injections can
be avoided with the help of sedation or a short-term general
anaesthesia if the patient wishes.
The hair is transplanted from the permanent zone in the back
of the scalp. Over 3000 grafts containing over 7000 hairs can
be transplanted in one operation.
Hair grows in groups that contain 1-5 hairs, a sebaceous gland
and a membrane that surrounds the whole unit. All hairs in this
unit are growing out of the same pillory canal. With the newest
technique, these groups of hair, or follicular units, can be
transplanted in large numbers just in one session.
|
The result of one megasession is a
totally
natural looking hairline.
|
The preparation of follicular unit grafts demands
a great accuracy of the whole operating team. At our hospital we have
10 staff members trained for this job.
The recipient holes are made with a small needle all over the bald
area and the micrografts cut as follicular units are inserted there
one by one.
The insertion of the grafts is a very delicate procedure as the hair
units can be transplanted as dense as 1 mm from each other. The frontal
hairline is designed before the operation together with the patient
so that it looks completely natural and does not have an abrupt start.
If more density is desired, the hair transplantation can be repeated.
The transplantation of over 3000 grafts in one session is quite labour
intensive and it takes out team around 8 hours of work.
 |
There are more than 10 members in
our hair team.
|
In one follicular unit transplantation the density of up to 100 hair/cm2
can be achieved. The operation can be repeated to achieve a greater
density, especially in the temporal region.
After a megasession a bandage is applied over the treated area and
kept overnight, while no bandage is required after a smaller hair
transplantation. Some crusting can occur in the operated area that
gradually disappears within a week or two. Some patients might experience
swelling in the forehead and around the eyes area for a few days postoperatively.
|
|
|
On the pictures above one can see the person before hair
transplantation. We have transplanted
2 700 micrografts to this person.
On the pictures on the left is the
same person after hair transplantation. We have transplanted
2 700 micrografts to this person.
|
|
|
On the picture on the left one can
see the frontal hairline of the same person.
|
| Hair transplantation is done
in local anaesthesia. The whole experience is totally painless
for the patient. Even the unpleasant sensation of local anaesthesia
injections can be avoided with the help of sedation or a short-term
general anaesthesia if the patient wishes. He can read, watch
TV, listen to music, and eat during the operation. He is also
allowed to take a short break, walk a bit, eat and go to the bathroom.
After the operation the bandage is applied over the operated area
and the patient is free to leave home. |
|
 |
We use an individual approach
to every patient. The patients come to us from all over the world,
also to correct the unsuccessfuul results of the operations done
elsewhere. |
Easy Aftercare
Aftercare is extremely easy after the hair
transplantation. The bandage is removed
and the hair is washed the next day after the procedure, but if you
wish, you can also do it at home by yourself.
The transplanted hair enters a resting phase after the transplantation.
It will fall out within a few weeks, however, new hair will start
to grow in the graft sites within 3-6 months. A normal rate of hair
growth is about 1 cm per month.We invite you for a follow-up consultation
in 6 months after the operation when the transplanted hair is 1 -
7 cm long. The transplanted hair continues
to grow for a lifetime.
We have performed over 20 000 hair transplantations
and have never seen that the hair we have transplanted would not grow.
Therefore we are the only plastic surgery hospital in the world to
give our patients an absolute guarantee that at least all
the grafts we have promised to transplant will grow permanent hair.
|
|
|
| Before the hair transplantation |
After the hair transplantation |
|
|
|
|
| Close-up of the hairline after the
hair transplantation |
Minigrafts
Minigrafts are larger in size than micrografts
and do not create results as natural looking as micrografts cut as
follicular units. Many physicians prefer this technique as it is less
costly, easier technically, and less laborious.
Operation
A strip of skin is cut from the back of the
patient's head from the area of the permanent growth of hair. The
minigrafts are inserted into the recipient slits that are made either
with a scalpel blade, with a needle, or with a laser. Unlike micrografts,
minigrafts often create a pluggy look.
When we explain to our customers the difference
between minigrafts and micrografts cut as follicular units, practically
everyone chooses the micrografts although they are more expensive.
Laser Hair Transplantation
We were the first to start with laser hair transplantation in Finland
in 1996. From our experience, by means of just laser hair transplantation
it is not possible to create results as good as with micrografts
or follicular unit techniques. Usually with laser hair transplantation
bigger minigrafts are used.
The laser is used to burn recipient holes
in the scalp. Due to that the laser cannot be used in the areas
with some hair growth as it might damage the hair roots.
At our hospital we use only these hair transplantation
techniques that have proven to be safe and effective. Utilizing
all of these techniques, we make an individual operation plan for
every our patient.
Scalp Reduction
Scalp reductions are surgical procedures
in which a loose patch of bald scalp is removed, and the adjacent
hairy scalp is pulled together and sutured to close the opening.
The fastest way to reduce the bald area is to use the method patented
by Professor Nordström, the Nordstrom Suture. With this method
on average 4 - 5 cm of the bald area can be removed in one operation.
If the bald area is quite wide, e.g., 10 cm, it can be removed in
two or three operations, over 3 month intervals. Afterwards, the
hairline and the area behind it can be corrected with e.g. micrografts
in the following operation.
 |
Scalp reduction is a surgical method
of male pattern baldness correction. A"Mercedes"
star pattern for the incisions is one of the most common.
Scalp reduction can be concluded
with hair transplantation to correct the frontal area with
grafts.
|
|
Various burn scars and bald areas caused by
irradiation treatment can be corrected by means of scalp reductions.
Immediately after the scalp reduction the hair continues to grow normally.
The patient can return to work the next day after the surgery. Some
patients get a headache following the scalp reductions that is treated
with painkillers.
Flaps
Flaps can be of various designs and they
offer the quickest method of, e.g., correcting the frontal hairline.
Flap surgery is done in local anaesthesia, often in one operation.
A large hair-bearing portion of the scalp is partially detached
from the scalp and used to cover the balding area. A portion of
the flap is still attached to the original area of the scalp, so
it continues to receive nourishment from blood vessels. As a result,
the hair will continue growing, unlike hair grafting, in which the
hair will fall out before regrowing.
The flap is long enough to take advantage
of the important area at the back of the head and to correct the
front area as well. It can be up to 25 cm long and 3-4 cm wide.
If a bigger area needs to be corrected, two flaps could be used
in combination with one of our patented methods to reduce the bald
area behind the flap.
Flap surgery can create the densest hairline
possible in just one operation. The bandage is applied after the
flap surgery. The patient can experience some swelling after the
surgery that disappears within 6 postoperative days.
|
At the Nordström Hospital For
Plastic Surgery we offer you the best and most advanced solutions
for male pattern baldness correction. Here you will get the
best treatment and all the help you need.
On the picture to the left is the
result of the flap surgery.
|
Complications Related to Hair Transplantation
Scar widening in the donor area can occur in
some patients no matter which of the above-mentioned technique is
used. This situation can be corrected, and untill then, the scar can
be covered by the hair.
Seppo's story
"Now, after I have been through several
hair transplantations, I might not be the most handsome man in the
room, but I do get lucky once in a while. By some reason my strength
is in my hair.
I was often persuaded that my problem was not physical but psychological,
that I just had a low self-esteem and my problems would vanish as
soon as I learnt how to accept myself as I am. The thing was that
I could come to terms with the way I looked but it was the people
around me that could not. If I had to spend the rest of my life on
an island, it would not have really mattered what I looked like, would
it? But I live among people who judge me by my looks and by my looks
they used to conclude that I was some kind of a criminal.
Often people tell me that in my place they would have shaven their
head bald as being bald is masculine and sexy. In my opinion everyone
chooses what is best for him or her. If I thought baldness suited
me, I would not have bothered with hair transplantation, would I?
Before the hair transplantation I used to look older than my biological
age. Now the situation has changed completely. Many believe that I
am much younger than I actually am. I feel like I have been given
a chance to live the last 10 years all over again. The best thing
is that I can relive these years but with all the experience that
I have now I can do many things differently. "
|
|
Hair Transplant Forum International,
Volume 10, Number 4, July/August 2000, s.106
Article.
|
Copyright
© 2000 - 2003 The Nordström Hospital for Plastic Surgery.
All rights reserved.
|
