Hair Transplant For Women - Latest On Female Hair Loss

Parsa Mohebi, M.D.

Woman hair loss has been the subject of many studies, treatment options for treatment of woman hair loss continued to be unclear. Although new techniques of hair transplant could be used for many women, there are many with hair loss that can not be successfully treated with hair transplant surgery for variety of reasons.

Women hair loss is characteristically different than men hair loss. Men with male pattern baldness usually lose their hair in the corners and front and sometimes crown area initially. Hair transplant could be effectively used for men with hair loss due to preservation of the quality of hair in the back of scalp so called donor area. This area might be unstable in many women with hair loss.

Hair loss in women is mostly seen with diffuse thinning without good donor area that could be used to harvest hair. Weak hair in donor area excludes many women from being a good candidate for hair transplant. A good microscopic examination by an expert can determine the rate of miniaturization or thinning of hair shaft in donor area. Significant number of miniaturized hair in donor area makes it unstable and improper for transplant purposes. Medical treatment of hair loss in women may be the only treatment for some patients.

Causes hair loss in women
Causes of female hair loss are different and might be related to other medical conditions suchashormonal, immunologic and other systemic disorders. Some women may genetically have hair loss similar to what is seen in men. Women with genetic hair loss limited to front, corners and top could be treated with hair transplant successfully of they have stable hair in donor area. Other surgically treatable causes of female hair loss are:

• Women with high forehead who need hair transplant to lower their hairline.
  
• Women with scar and hair loss from face lift or brow lift procedures.
  
• Women with chronic traction alopecia.
  
• Women with hair loss in eyebrow and eyelashes.

Hair transplant surgery has been transformed greatly in the last ten years. Surgical hair restoration with hair transplant has been around for almost a hundred years with different levels of success and precision.

In 1939 a Japanese dermatologist invented a technique for transplant of skin containing hair to the burned area on the scalp. The goal was to create some hair coverage for the area. That procedure could probably be called the first ancestor of today's refined hair transplant. At about the same time, single hairs were transplanted by the Japanese for eyebrow filling.

The concept of transferring skin or hair was adopted by Dr. Orentreich in 1952 in America for treatment of male pattern baldness, which is extended for female hair transplant as a treatment for women hair loss later on. This is the beginning of the era of plug surgery.
These plugs created islands of skin with high density hair and the balding areas were progressively filled in, eventually eliminating the visualization of the bald scalp. Many of the patients, treated with these techniques, had to have repeated surgery to hide the unnatural plugs.

As the techniques evolved in the 1980s, smaller size mini and micro-grafts were eventually used. These smaller grafts produced a more natural look. The discovery of Follicular Units was the inevitable final refinement, first coming to use in the early 1990s for hair loss treatment in man and woman.

Follicular Unite Transplant (FUT) set a new standard in hair restoration surgery. FUT has made the dream of natural looking hair transplant, a reality. Women with hair loss could be candidate for follicular unit transplant as it is currently the standard of care in hair transplant surgery.

Other advances in techniques and instruments for hair transplant made larger surgeries possible for more sever hair loss for men and women and facilitated the transplant of a maximum number of grafts in only one session. The emphasis on natural looking surgery and elimination of noticeable scars advanced the techniques further.

Medications such as minoxidil could be used along with hair transplant for women. Minoxidil can help thicken miniaturized hair in many patients, prevent or slowed hair loss in women in early stages of hair loss. Minoxidil may be synergistic with hair transplant in preserving and/or reversing hair loss.

The future is bright with the promise for hair multiplication over the coming years. The idea of producing unlimited numbers of hair from a single hair follicle is being researched and could be an option for women with diffuse hair loss that surgery is not a good option for them at this time, but it is in the future and not expected to happen in the next 7 to 10 years.
Expansion in knowledge of human genome and the advancement of technology for gene expression may locate a cure for female pattern balding. You may be eligible for hair transplant surgery. If you are a candidate, restoring your hair and youthful look of today could be as easy as a visit to the dentist's office. To learn more on modern techniques of hair transplant visit USHairRestoration.com

Author Parsa Mohebi, M.D.
Dr. Parsa Mohebi is staff surgeon and medical director of US Hair Restoration. His goal for hair restoration is to create the most natural look using the modern techniques of hair transplant. He did his internship in University of North Dakota followed by residency in surgery in University of New Mexico and York Hospital. Dr. Mohebi is fellowship trained in surgical hair restoration.

Dr. Mohebi performed research into on wound healing and hair growth at the Department of Surgical Sciences at Johns Hopkins Medical Center. The research project focused on gene therapy for wound healing. Included in the research were projects that were applicable for hair restoration. He is enthusiastic at the potential for scar-less surgery and in the techniques for revising surgical scars. Dr. Mohebi is the author of Hair Loss Question and Answer at http://www.info.ushairrestoration.com.

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