Hair transplantation is the most common surgical hair replacement treatment. Hair transplantation is the surgical removal of hair grafts from donor sites on the side and the back of the head, places where balding men still have plenty of hair. These hair follicles are not inhibited by DHT (dihydrotestosterone) because they lack the genetic instructions . They remain healthy permanently. Hair grafts from these DHT-resistant hairs are transplanted into the balding and thinning areas of the scalp. 

History of hair transplantation

Hair transplants have been performed since the late 1800s. The modern technique of transplanting hair from occipital areas of the scalp was started by Dr. Norman Orentreich in the late 1950s. He used large 6-10 mm punches or trephines to remove donor grafts and to implant in the recipient area. However these resulted in ugly, cosmetically unacceptable “Doll look or rice field look” . The next major advance came with the use of smaller grafts-called mini and micro grafts. Mini grafts are groups of 3-5 hair while micro grafts are groups of 1-3 hairs. The latest major advancement is the identification of follicular units and the use of microscope for dissection.

Recent Advances in Hair Transplantation