Hair loss can shatter confidence and make you feel years older than you are. Trying to do research on hair transplants, especially when it involves travelling to another country can also be a very stressful experience. In this article, we will cover everything you need to know about hair transplants, with a focus on travelling to Turkey for this procedure in 2024. We will give you an easy to understand breakdown of the different types of hair transplants, what to look out for when making a decision and answers to frequently asked questions. Keep reading below for more.
Table of Contents
What is a Hair Transplant?
A hair transplant is a surgical procedure that tackles hair loss by moving healthy hair follicles from one area of your scalp to another area where the hair is thinning or absent. This is done by taking grafts of skin from a part of the head around the scalp area where there is plenty of healthy hair, known as the donor area. A graft refers to tiny sections of skin containing hair follicles that are removed from the donor area for transplantation. Once taken, the grafts containing the hair follicles from the donor area are then transplanted into the balding/thinning area of the head, known as the recipient site.
Hair transplants are a relatively easy procedure as they are considered a minor surgery, only requiring local anesthetic (i.e. similar to what is done when you visit the dentist for fillings). Recovery from this procedure usually takes a few weeks post operation. Hair growth results typically start to show 6 – 12 months after the procedure. There are 2 main methods for hair transplants which are covered in more details below.
Different Types of Hair Transplants
The 2 main types of hair transplant procedures are:
- Follicular Unit Extraction/Excision (FUE)
- Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT)
Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)
Developed in the early 2000’s, FUE hair transplantation is the more modern and most popular technique used by most surgeons today. This is because recovery is less painful and leaves less scarring. The FUE hair transplant procedure involves using a surgical tool to extract grafts of skin containing individual hair follicles from your scalp via tiny punches to remove the hair. The recipient site is then prepared for the extracted grafts of hair follicles to be transplanted. Due to how the skin grafts are extracted from your scalp, as hair follicles are taken from all around the back and sides of the head evenly, the extraction is much less noticeable. The surgery generally takes between 4-8 hours and upon completion your doctor will require you to wear bandages on your head for a few days and share other post operation care instructions with you.
Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT)
Also known as Follicular Unit Strip Surgery (FUSS), FUT rose to popularity in the 1980’s and remained the most popular method for baldness over the following decades. FUT hair transplantation works by removing a strip of skin from the back of the scalp which is usually several inches long. Once the strip of skin has been removed, the hair follicles will be extracted using microscopic dissection. Upon dissection, similar to the FUE procedure, the hair follicles will then be transplanted into the recipient area. Once complete, the donor area will be stitched up leaving a linear scar where the strip of skin was extracted. The scar is typically covered by hair surrounding the area once it grows back. As the removed hair is from a more concentrated linear area in comparison to FUE, scarring can be harder to cover up based on your hair around the donor area. This procedure can take between 6-10 hours due to the additional requirement of dissecting the hair follicles from the removed strip of skin.
Of course, other factors such as skill of surgeon and number of hair grafts being transplanted can effect the length for both procedure methods.
Reasons to get a Hair Transplant
There are many reasons a person may want to get a hair transplant, all of which are a result of hair loss. Whether male or female, hair loss can be caused by many issues such as alopecia, genetics, age, stress, medication and illness. It is more common for men to have this procedure compared to women. This is because women don’t tend to suffer from the same hair loss patterns as men, unless related to a certain condition. If you are someone who has experienced hair loss or balding, the reasons you may consider getting a hair transplant include:
- It is a permanent solution to hair loss which only requires one procedure.
- Look younger and improve overall attractiveness.
- Increase self confidence as this is a lifelong solution.
- Can be done for most people and hair types.
- It provides a natural look compared to other solutions such as wigs.
- After completing the hair transplant, there is less general maintenance and cost compared to other hair replacement treatments such as oils, wigs and make up.
It is also important to consider reasons to avoid getting a hair transplant, these include but are not limited to:
- The wrong choice of a clinic or surgeon who may produce unsatisfactory results.
- While extremely uncommon, infection and bleeding can also result in rare cases.
- Any person with dormant hair follicles may experience less effective results.
- As hair transplants procedures are done on existing hair, anyone with widespread baldness or hair thinning may not be suitable, for example with certain cases of Alopecia.
While hair transplants are a highly effective treatment, it is important to consider both the benefits and drawbacks before choosing to get one.
The Hair Transplant Procedure
Although there are 2 main methods for hair transplants, the procedures for both are relatively similar. This section will cover the procedure in detail and highlight clearly where the process changes for a particular method.
Prior to any hair transplant procedure, you will start by booking a consultation with a clinic. During the consultation, your doctor will give you an assessment by asking you about your hair loss, family history and any other medical conditions you may have. Based on the assessment and stage of hair loss you are at, your doctor will advise you on the best next steps.
If your hair loss is at an early stage, it can be likely you will be referred onto using treatments to help hair loss such as Finasteride or Minoxidil. For this reason, it is important to make sure you don’t rush into booking the procedure and don’t feel rushed by your doctor either.
If however, during the consultation, you are deemed as a good fit for a hair transplant, your doctor will then discuss the transplant procedure . This will include, how many grafts you need and informing you of which method will be the most suitable. You will then pick a date for the procedure. This will be based on both the surgeon and your availability, especially if you are travelling abroad for treatment.
On the day of your transplant, you will arrive at the clinic for your procedure. Once both you and the surgeon are ready, local anesthetic will be applied around the head. Depending on the method for your procedure, how hair follicles are obtained from the donor area will differ:
FUE Method: With this more modern method, hair will be extracted from across the scalp to make the impact of where hair follicles are removed less noticeable. This is done by removing tiny punches of hair rather than making incisions in the scalp. Imagine the donor area of your head as a field of tall grass – rather than cutting a line straight through the grass to obtain it, blades of grass are extracted individually from across the field so when complete, it does not look like the field has been cut at all. This is how the FUE method works.
FUT Method: With the FUT transplant, a strip of skin several inches in length containing the hair follicles is removed from your scalp. Referring to the same analogy as in the previous section, in this case the field of grass is cut straight through to obtain the grass. After removal, the strip of skin will be stitched up and hair should grow back to cover the long, slim scar this method would leave behind.
Regardless of the method, once extraction is complete from the donor area, the grafts will be stored in a special medical container to begin the removal of hair follicles. These grafts of skin will be carefully worked on to remove the hair follicles. After the hair has been extracted from the donor area and processed, the recipient area will start to receive treatment in preparation for the extracted hair follicles to be transplanted. This is done by your surgeon making incisions and punches to hold the hair in the recipient area. Once complete, depending on the transplant method your surgeon decides is most suitable, they will begin placing the extracted hair in the recipient area.
Once the hair transplant procedure is complete, your surgeon will apply bandages to your head and discuss follow up care with you. You can read more about the hair transplant recovery process in detail.
Why Travel for a Hair Transplant
Hair transplants can be done in most countries however, many patients still choose to travel abroad for treatment. The reason to travel can vary from person to person however, the most popular reasons include:
- Lower Costs: Cost is by far the primary reason many choose to travel abroad for hair transplants. There are many countries that offer significant cost savings on hair transplants in comparison to a potential patients home country or other developed nations.
- Combining the treatment with a holiday: Along with the treatment being cheaper in a lot of countries where medical tourism is popular, many patients like to combine this with a relaxing getaway and make the most out of the cost savings. Why spend your time recovering at home when you can be relaxing in a country with opportunities to discover a new culture?
- Specialised Care: Depending on the country you wish to travel for your procedure, there can be many specialised clinics offering hair transplants specifically. With these doctors working on hair transplant patients full time all-year-round, it is likely you will get better quality treatment than back home from a doctor who may not regularly carry out this procedure.
Why Travel to Turkey for a Hair Transplant
In recent years, Turkey has absolutely exploded with popularity as a medical tourism hotspot – especially for hair transplants. It is estimated that in 2022, over 1 million tourists visited Turkey for this procedure alone. As well as all of the reasons listed in the previous section, Turkey has become very popular for hair transplants due to many other reasons reasons:
- Medical Tourism Infrastructure: Turkey has been investing significantly in its infrastructure for medical tourism over the last 20 years. With demand increasing for lots of different treatment types as well as tourism in general, the countries lodging, transportation and clinics have all been improved and renovated to accommodate the increase in visitors.
- State of the art clinics: Clinics in Turkey are some of the most modern you will find in any country. With a public health system that is already regarded as one of the best in the world, the private clinics in the country all have next generation equipment to ensure patient comfort and satisfaction.
- Highly Skilled Doctors: With the massive growth experienced in the medical tourism industry, specialist surgeons working in hair restoration industry has also increased. Many of these clinics have risen in popularity, due to the high quality results they are able to produce, giving them some of the best reputation from any clinic globally.
- A beautiful country with a lot of diversity in regions: Turkey is a large country boasting many historic cities, beautiful beaches and relaxing resorts. No matter what your preference is when visiting a country, Turkey has something to offer you. The modern, high quality clinics are located and accessible in all of the major cities and destinations across the country.
Cost of a Hair Transplant and Other Considerations
The cost of a hair transplant can vary based on many important factors. These factors range from the city you choose, the clinic and surgeon, how many grafts you need, if you go for a full-package treatment and the type of hair transplant you get. Below you can see an estimate for the cost of a hair transplant in Turkey with the considerations listed at the start of this section.
- FUT Hair Transplant: $800 – $2,000
- FUE Hair Transplant: $1,000 – $4,000
Depending on how much hair needs to be transplanted to the recipient area, the price per graft generally ranges from $0.70 – $2. How many grafts you need will be assessed by your doctor but can be anywhere between 1,000 to 5,000. While cost is an important consideration, it is just as important to choose a reputable clinic and clinician for satisfactory, life-long results.
Along with the cost of the treatment, other expenses will include travel to and from the country, accommodation and spending money while there. Booking these aspects of the trip separately will help you save money, as tour companies offering full packages put a mark up on prices for profit. If however you still want to book a full package treatment, these prices range from $2,000-$6,000 with 2-4 nights accommodation. Remember to read into all of the details of the deals, as some packages don’t include flights or other essential aspects required for your trip. Check out this article detailing the cost of a hair transplant in Turkey for more details.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
- What is the success rate of a hair transplant?
- If you have been deemed a good fit for hair transplantation and follow all of the instructions given by your doctor such as not smoking, avoiding certain substances and medications, the success rate of hair transplants are 99%.
- Can anyone get a hair transplant?
- Surgeons are only able to work on hair that you already have, meaning if you do not have sufficient hair from the donor area or are completely bald, you may not be suitable for this treatment.
- Does transplanted hair need special care forever?
- No, once you have completely recovered from the operation and hair has started to grow again, this can be treated as normal hair with no special treatment required.
- Can I do anything except sit there during the procedure?
- Yes, since you are only under local anesthetic it is possible to watch movies, listen to music or even play games if you wish. What’s most important is that you remain still so that your doctor can carry out the procedure easily.
- Is the hair transplant procedure painful?
- The most uncomfortable part of the process is receiving the local anesthetic at the beginning. Although this does not take very long, since anesthetic is given by injection it may cause some unease but apart from that the process should be completely painless. Most patients do not find the initial process of receiving anesthetic painful.
- How long is recovery/how much time do I need off work?
- The recovery process will depend on the method of hair transplant. Generally, most patients are able to return to work after a few days. FUE recovery is 2-3 days while FUT can be a little longer (estimated 7-14) since there are stitches in the donor area. Even with being able to return to work after a few days, it is very important to take care for the few weeks following the procedure and listen to your doctors instructions so no difficulties are experienced.
- How long will it take for my hair to start growing after the procedure?
- This varies from patient to patient but in most cases you will see noticeable hair growth after 6-8 months and complete return of hair 12 months post-operation.
If you still have any questions or are unsure of the procedure, feel free to contact us for unbiased information. We are not associated with any clinics and are here to simplify the information gathering process around hair transplants in Turkey. We hope you’ve enjoyed this article and feel free to leave a comment below.
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