Hair Transplantation Essay

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HAIR TRANSPLANTATION I'm going to start talking about the short history of hair transplantation. Hair transplantation is a surgical procedure used to treat baldness or hair loss. Typically, tinyfollicles of hair are removed from a donor site and implanted into the bald spots on the head. Hair transplantation is performed on men and occasionally on women whose hair has significantly broken down causing hair loss. An estimated 50,000 men get transplants each year. Transplants can also be done to replace hair lost due to burns, injury, or diseases of the scalp. Hair transplant was developed in Japan by Dr. Okuda in the late 1930s,to restore hair to burn victims and those who suffered scalp injuries. Dr. Okuda used a punch technique to remove small areas of hair-bearing skin and then implanted these into small holes in the damaged areas of skin. This allowed the hair to grow back. While this method did restore hair, it was definitely crude and did not look natural at all. Hair restoration surgery was used in Japan for many years before making it to the United States. It wasn’t until the early 1950′s, when the first hair transplant surgery was performed by a dermatologist named Dr. Norman Orentreich, to a man who had male pattern baldness. Hebrought in this new method of hair replacement to the United States. Hair transplants became much more popular during the 1960′s, although they never appeared natural. During the 1980′s, the surgery changed a great deal and large punch grafts were replaced and new mini-micrografts were set up for a more natural look. Hair transplant surgery has come a long way from the obvious doll look of the past, and now most surgery is undetectable when it’s performed properly. Surgeons even continue to perfect the technique and results can be amazing, provided you choose a well-trained and experienced surgeon. For many people,

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