Does a Hair Transplant Hurt?
A lot of individuals suffer from baldness or hair loss. Do you fall into this category? Have you made the decision that a hair transplant is the best option for you? Then it’s possible that you may have some worries about the procedure. It is understandable since the scalp is a very sensitive portion of the head, and the prospect of creating an incision or doing surgery on it might be daunting. However, it is not as frightening as you may assume.
People who are considering hair transplants often spend a significant amount of time studying and viewing a large number of hair transplant videos before undergoing the procedure. Despite the fact that they may be able to imagine and comprehend the notion of hair transplantation, “how it feels to undergo surgery” can only be learned through firsthand observation. The topic of whether or not the hair transplantation operation is painful is one that most of our patients at Nova Medical Hair Transplant Miami clinic have. As a result, answering this question is very difficult since each patient has a unique pain and healing threshold, which is why some individuals may suffer more pain and discomfort than others throughout their treatment.
In this post, Nova Medical Hair Transplant has attempted to clarify some of the issues that have been expressed by a large number of individuals considering hair transplants. In this article we’ll walk you through the whole procedure and tell you precisely what you can expect to feel and the pain level.
What is a Hair Transplant and How Does it Work?
Hair transplantation is a groundbreaking hair restoration process that allows patients who have thinning or balding hair to regain full-grown, natural-looking hair in a short period of time.
Surgical hair restoration, also known as hair transplantation, is a procedure that includes the excision of hair roots that are resistant to the DHT-Dihydrotestosterone hormone. These cells are harvested from the donor scalp, which is the safe portion of the scalp. The transplanted hair follicles are placed on the recipient scalp, which is any bald spot on the head.
Hair Transplantation Methods
Hair transplantation treatments available at Nova Medical Hair Transplant, include the leading FUE technology and the FUT procedure. It is first and foremost necessary to understand the nature of the process being performed. The procedure of extracting hair follicles from the donor location is the most significant distinction between the two ways of hair restoration. Here are the two procedure types available:
FUT
The procedure known as follicular unit transplantation (FUT) involves the removal of healthy hair follicles from the donor region in the form of short strips, which are subsequently separated into individual hair grafts and implanted in the afflicted area. Because this operation is more intrusive, the recovery and healing period may be longer, and there may be scars as a result of it.
FUE
The Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) procedure, on the other hand, allows the surgeon to harvest individual hair follicles, which are subsequently implanted into the damaged region. Because of the shorter healing period (between 3-7 days), this surgery leaves a minor scar.
About Hair Transplants
In order to address this issue, it may be helpful to go through some of the fundamentals of hair transplantation again. Despite the fact that hair transplantation has been practiced since the 1950s, it has seen significant advancements in recent years. To put it simply, hair is extracted from a hair-growing part of one’s scalp and then grafted (or implanted) into a desired thinning location of the scalp. Over the last several decades, the method has advanced to the point that hair units as small as a few hairs, or even a single hair, may be extracted and successfully transplanted into a different location of the body.
Examination Process
As a general rule, there are four major phases in the surgical procedure for hair transplantation:
Examination: Before performing the transplant, the doctor checks the balding regions as well as the potential donor sites. Then he calculates the amount of grafts that will be necessary, taking into consideration parameters such as:
- Color and texture of one’s hair
- The location and size of the transplantation site
- Hair quality, such as thickness and color, are important considerations.
The extraction of follicles from the donor location: An in-office procedure or the use of a follicular extractor is used to remove donor hair follicles, which is a small surgery.
Preparation of the recipient’s site: Preparation of the area where donor hair follicles will be transplanted.
Donor follicle implantation: This is the procedure that is used to transplant hair follicles into bald or thin parts of the body.
Is The Surgery For Hair Transplantation Painful?
Now onto the question that we are most asked by our patients: “Is the surgery for hair transplantation painful?. At the end of the day, hair transplantation is a surgical process, and as such, local anesthetic is required to decrease discomfort. It goes without saying that this demonstrates that this procedure can cause some discomfort during and after the procedure. However, hair transplantation is unquestionably less unpleasant now than it was in the past, because of advancements in technology, talent, and medical science, among other factors.
The doctor will provide local anesthetic to the patient’s scalp before beginning the transplant surgery. Anesthesia reduces the pain to a minimum. The only thing that might cause discomfort is the first injection, which can be a bit uncomfortable. The remainder of the process will be pretty painless when this stage is completed. The objective of the Nova Medical Hair Transplant clinic is for all of our clients to be as comfortable as possible throughout their treatment process.
How Difficult Will the Recovery Process be?
Although the surgery itself is painless, the region of the scalp that has been treated tends to be sore for a short period of time after the procedure has been completed. Due to the disturbed scalp tissue, there may be some redness and swelling in the first few days after the procedure.
The only actual pain a patient has during a hair transplant is the numbing drug that is administered before the procedure. Once the scalp has been prepared and numbed, the patient will have no sensations for the rest of the procedure. The procedure of numbing the scalp is divided into two parts: numbing the donor region where we will harvest the grafts, and numbing the recipient area, where we will implant the new grafts.
The injections are shallow, rapid, and carried out with a very thin needle to provide maximum comfort. As a result, there is little discomfort throughout this part of the procedure. Generally speaking, most patients describe it as a little “pinching” feeling that soon passes and is followed by numbness when the medication “kicks in.”
The numbing medicine takes around 10-15 minutes to have its full effect, however most patients report feeling numb within seconds to minutes after taking the medication. Following this, there is no more sensation in the donor location. The doctor may remove the tissue using either the FUT/strip or the FUE techniques without the patient experiencing any discomfort or pain. The numbing medicine normally lasts for 3 hours and must be reapplied many times during the day to keep the patient from experiencing pain when the medication wears off.
During the Procedure
Following the administration of the numbing medicine, patients will experience no discomfort throughout the extraction portion of the procedure, as previously explained. The recipient area, like the donor zone, must be numbed before the doctor may create incisions and insert the grafts back into the scalp, just as it was with the donor location.
After the donor numbing procedure, the doctor will inject a local anaesthetic into the recipient region, and within a few minutes, the whole area will be numb. After the numbing medication takes effect, the doctor and technicians may proceed with the surgery in the region without the patient being aware of what they are doing. Numbing in the recipient area is the very last sensation the patient will have for the rest of his or her procedure.
Following this, the whole scalp — from the very front to the donor area at the far rear — becomes entirely numb and unresponsive. There will be no physical pain associated with the procedure itself, however the patient may find it necessary to readjust and take pauses to stretch and move about to minimize the discomfort of sitting for an extended amount of time. If the patient does begin to feel discomfort, he or she can alert the personnel, and the doctor will provide further numbing medicine to the patient.
Following the Surgical Procedure
So we know that patients will not experience any pain during surgery after anaesthetic has been delivered, but what about after surgery? How long does it take for the numbing medicine to wear off? Patients have reported little to no soreness after surgery, which is a blessing for recovery.
Following the completion of the procedure, the doctor will re-administer the numbing medicine. This implies that the patient will have around 3 hours of numbness before it begins to wear off and any possible pain arises. The patient now has three hours to get back to where they are staying, get settled, and, most importantly, begin taking the post-operative pain medications that have been prescribed.
If the patient follows the instructions and has sufficient amounts of pain medication in their system before the numbing wears off, the transition should be smooth and they should experience no discomfort. They will then take the pain meds many more times as directed the night before surgery, and they will be able to go to bed without experiencing any discomfort.
By the following morning, all chance for discomfort should have been eliminated completely. On the day following surgery, the vast majority of patients report no discomfort and no need for any type of pain relief medication. If they do experience any minor discomfort, they should have a few pain relievers left from their prescription, or they can take Tylenol as needed. These are merely for minor pain and most individuals do not even need this treatment in most cases.
Takeaway
If you come to the conclusion that a hair transplant is the best answer for you, don’t be concerned about whether or not a hair transplant will hurt or cause pain. Don’t let a little inconvenience like this deter you from undergoing a transplant. Finding a reputable surgeon who is board certified and has extensive expertise performing hair transplant surgeries is the best way to prevent experiencing pain and have successful results.
The hair transplant treatment that we do at Nova Medical Hair Transplant Miami is not uncomfortable at all, as shown by the fact that our clients express no discomfort throughout the surgery. You can reach our hair loss experts by phone or by filling out a contact form. We are looking forward to hearing from you and helping you on your hair transplant journey.