Reviewed by Michal Paczkowski, MD, PhD
Hair transplant is a surgery that restores your hair by moving hair follicles from a donor area to a recipient area. It is the most popular solution in treating especially male baldness. Nonetheless, hair transplant surgery is also highly effective in restoring eyebrows, eyelashes, beard, hair on chest, or pubic hair.
Hair transplant definition:
Hair transplant called also hair implantation or hair restoration is an aesthetic procedure which allows for restoring hair in your body parts affected by hair loss. The hair is moved from the donor site to the recipient site. The donor site is your body part where you have hair which can be transplanted from, and the recipient site is a bald area which you wish to have hair on.
Benefits of hair transplant surgery:
Hair transplant surgery abroad is a perfect solution to the problem of hair loss. It helps restore hair on your head, chest, your eyelashes, eyebrows, or hair on any other body part. Very often our patients are those who had accidents, surgeries, scars, or illnesses which prevent further hair growth on specific areas of the body. Our surgeons design such a hairline that it is most effective and most suitable for every patient. After the surgery, there are no scars or any other signs of hair transplant in neither donor nor recipient areas.
Hair transplant candidates
The best candidate for hair transplant are people suffering from hair loss due to age, stress, accident, trauma, or illness, and want to restore it, but at the same time have realistic expectations. In general, there are no such contradictions for hair restoration as age or sex, but you need to be in a good health condition, lead a relatively healthy lifestyle and commit yourself to take a proper care of your hair after hair transplant procedure.
Hair transplant prices
Hair transplant in Poland is a cheap procedure. The price per 1 graft (4 hair) starts from 1,2 GBP. The price for 1 graft in Poland includes: PRP treatment (Platelet Rich Plasma) Support during the operation, special washing and medical dressing after the operation (After-Care), the examination done by our experts before the operation (Computered Hair Analysis), the medicines & lotions you will use before and after the operation. The price for hair transplant in Poland is really cheap in comparison to other countries. In the UK the average price is 3,5 GBP per 1 graft, and in the USA the price is 5,6 GBP.
Hair transplant procedure:
Hair transplant procedure is not complicated. Firstly, the surgeon prepares your donor area. He cleans it and numbs it. The method used for your hair transplant are carefully chosen by the doctor. Either FUSS or FUE method is used. The former is follicular unit strip surgery, where the doctor removes a 15-20cm strip of your skin from your head back and divides it into grafts (one graft involves no more than 4 hair). The latter is follicular unit extraction. In this method, your hair follicles are removed one by one. In two methods the small areas from which your hair is taken are not visible, as they are covered by the rest of your hair. When the grafts are prepared, the surgeon cleans and numbs the recipient area, makes tiny holes and puts there every graft separately. The whole procedure may take from 2 to 8 hours depending on how many grafts you need.
Before the hair transplant surgery:
Hair transplant surgery does not require any extensive preparations from the patient. Nonetheless, it is recommended you stop taking medicines containing Aspirin and Ibuprofen about 2 weeks before the surgery and refrain from drinking alcohol and coffee for at least 1 day before it. Also, smoking is not advisable both before and after the surgery because it might hamper the healing process.
Required medical tests:
The patient needs to have updated medical tests. The test required before hair transplant in Poland include blood morphology, coagulogram, serum glucose, urine analysis, HBs, HCV, and HIV. In Poland, the medical tests are done 1 day before the procedure and are included in the price.
Length of hair transplant procedure:
The length of the procedure depends on how many grafts you need. On average, 1000 grafts are transferred within 2 hours, 1500 grafts in 2,5-3 hours. If you need more than 1500 grafts, the procedure will be divided into 2 stages. The surgeon will start the transplant in the morning, then there will be a break and the procedure will be completed in the afternoon or evening.
Type of anesthesia:
In Poland, hair implantation procedure is performed under local anaesthesia. The surgeon numbs both the donor and recipient areas of your body so that you do not feel any pain.
Stay in the clinic:
Regarding hair transplant, it is not necessary to stay in the clinic for a night after the surgery. Usually, you can safely leave the clinic in the evening the same day as you have hair transplant done.
Minimal stay for hair transplant in Poland:
You should come one day before the procedure so that you can have medical tests done. After hair transplant, you should stay one night in the hotel because on the second day you have one more visit to the clinic, where you are given all further instructions for taking care of your hair. Hence, the minimum stay in Poland for a hair transplant is 3 days.
Back to work:
You can safely go back to work as well as to your everyday activities and exercise about a week after hair transplant.
Hair transplant results:
The pace at which your hair will grow after hair transplant depends on your individual predispositions. Some patients observe hair growth even 3-5 months after hair implantation. But in general, the most effective, observable and fast hair growth is between 6 and 7 months after the procedure. The full hair growth is observable about 12-18 months after the procedure of hair restoration. It is proved that after hair transplant about 98% of all grafts grow successfully.
After the hair transplant surgery:
The doctor may decide that you have to wear a bandage on the day of your surgery. The first days after hair transplant are extremely important and you need to be careful not to damage your transplants. You will have your hair washed the day after the surgery – in the clinic by a nurse. You can wash your hair yourself not earlier than 3 days after the hair transplant. You might feel a slight discomfort, face swelling or a headache for the first hours, but you will be given painkillers. All further post-surgical requirements you will be given by your doctor. During the surgery, the doctor uses dissolvable stitches, which will disappear over time.
Hair transplant risks and complications:
Hair transplant is a really safe procedure. Extremely rarely do any complications occur. Sometimes you may have a small infection regarding your scalp. Also, if you need a large number of grafts, you may feel head numbness for some time after the procedure. But serious complications after hair transplant do not occur.
Get the insurance for hair transplant abroad:
Hair transplant abroad
Beauty Poland offers most affordable prices for hair transplant. We cooperate with the best clinics in Poland, the doctors of which specialize in hair restoration. We also help you organize your travel and accommodation with pleasure, besides, you can ask our consultants about all-inclusive packages, so that you can combine your treatment with short vacations. We are at your disposal from your first enquiry till you leave Poland after your treatment. If you need a cheap, high-quality and effective hair transplant done by an experienced surgeon, contact us!