HAIR TRANSPLANT

Dr Manoj Khanna is among the most noted and qualified cosmetic surgeons in India. He completed his medical graduation (MBBS), post-graduation (MS) and MCh and DNB in Plastic Surgery from Kolkata, and FICS (USA), Fellowship (Cosmetic Surgery) (USA). He is highly experienced and trained under famous aesthetic surgeons at different well-known cosmetic surgery centers in California, Chicago, New York, Miami, Detroit, London and Paris. He has completed more than 7,000 cases of hair transplant or hair replacement, i.e., hair restoration in bald individuals. He has also performed over 1,300 cases of liposuction or suction-assisted lipectomy, and 1,200 cases of female breast surgery, and 700 cases if gynecomastia.

Know more from Dr Khanna about the hair transplant surgery:

How do you identify a good candidate for a hair transplant surgery? What is the type of patient you typically see for this procedure?

A good candidate for hair transplant surgery is one whose hair loss is controlled and has lost hair follicles from their roots where medical treatment will not work. One should always see if there is any possibility of improving the condition using medication and hair loss should have been controlled before planning a transplant. Patients from the age of 18 to 70 years consult me for a hair transplant and 90 per cent are males. The commonest group for hair transplant are male patients between 25-35-years-old.

How can best results be derived from this treatment? Tell us about the surgical technique adopted by you?

Hair transplant is a challenging surgery and needs perfection in every step of the procedure – from harvesting hair follicles, making slits, dissecting the Follicular Units, storing them, and implantation. The surgical team has an important role along with the surgeons and every step has to be meticulously executed. Proper synchronisation not only improves efficiency and quality of work, but also increases yield and reduces time – all reflecting in better result.

There are two techniques for doing a hair transplant: strip technique or FUT, and follicular unit excision or FUE. I have been doing hair transplant since 1996 and do both the techniques. The golden standard with best results is the strip technique, which is my preferred choice too. I also do FUE, which is good for hair transplant for smaller areas, and for additional extraction along with the strip in large cases, from the scalp and the beard.

The major advantage of the strip technique, especially in Indian patients, is harvesting the maximum number of best hair follicles from the donor area during removal, and longevity of the results. Asian hair is more in diameter than Caucasian hair, and there is a high incidence of loss of transplanted hair in Indian patients post FUE due to various reasons.

What is the recovery time for a hair transplant surgery and what is the posttreatment care involved?

As the entire operation is done under local anesthesia where the patient is fully awake, the patient goes home immediately post the procedure. Patients can also go back to work immediately or on the next day.

Also, post the strip technique, the telltale signs at the back is not seen as the donor area is covered by the existing hair, and the transplanted follicles are placed in an area that is not totally bald are not easily visible. In the case of FUE, it usually requires shaving of the head and the patient needs two to three months to get back to his normal look.

Post-operative care requires avoiding injury to the new transplanted hair for three weeks, and includes gentle shampooing, application of ointment to the donor area and some analgesics for the first three to five days. The patient can wear a cap from the next day and can even travel by air or road immediately after the procedure.

Patients from the age of 18 to 70 years consult me for a hair transplant and 90 per cent are males.

Any contraindications involved that one should be aware off? Also, is there anything the patient must not do after the procedure?

If the patient is medically fit, there is no contraindication for hair transplant. It is important to be careful in patients with diabetes, hypertension, localised scalp infection and major illnesses, and all of this should be controlled before the surgery. Also patients who having active hair loss must be treated medically and hair loss should be controlled before undergoing the procedure.

Patient should avoid trauma to the area of hair transplant for three weeks, be careful during shampooing and avoid wearing a helmet or T-shirt.

Which do you consider as among your most challenging as well as successful case studies for this treatment?

My most challenging and successful case was the hair transplant of the cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle. Harsha was one of the earliest cricket celebrities undergoing a hair transplant and had a large area of baldness. Even some time before the procedure, fellow cricketers like Jayasurya and Robin Uthappa tried to convince him not to change his looks but Harsha was keen. The quality of his donor hair was excellent and I told him immediately after the procedure that “people in India would be shocked after nine months” with his change. Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri spoke to me few days later and I told them that Harsha is going to have huge change. Fortunately it turned out that way. Harsha made his first public appearance nine months after the procedure in South Africa during the IPL, and Virender Sehwag failed to recognise him for a few seconds when he saw him for the first time. The successful hair transplant of Harsha Bhogle and Salman Khan gave people the belief that hair transplant is successful, and this led to the boom of this procedure post 2010.