How it works?

Folliculair hair replacement in Guatemala is an outpatient procedure.

While the patient is under anesthesia, the plastic surgeon takes away a tiny strip of skin with its hair follicles from the back of the head. Unlike hair on the top or front of the head, the donor area is unaffected by hairloss, because it is immune to the DHT (dehydrotesterone)-hormone that produces baldness. The surgery ends with suturing the scar, that remains mostly invisible under the remaining hair at the back of the head. This part of the procedure lasts approximately 45 minutes.

In the meantime the skinstrip with its follicles are sent to the laboratory in-house, where under rigorous hygienic and sterile conditions, the surgical staff removes the follicles one by one from the skin strip, using high performance microscopes. Needless to say that all the surgical micro-instruments are sterilized and being disposed after each use.

Once the patient has woken up from his anesthesia, he is being seated in a comfortable rest chair from where he can watch TV. The plastic Surgeon specialized in folliculair transplants together with his surgeon colleague uses ultra fine tools to insert the individual follicles one by one into the bald areas, with a technique that is designed to give the hairline a natural look.  This  second procedure lasts approximately 6 to 7 hours, depending on the amount of follicles that need to be inserted. The patient is sedated but can eat a sandwich, use the bathroom, etc…

Once this procedure is over, the patient is transferred to his hotel and is being given  the appropriate medication.

Unlike the traditional surgical procedure of transplanting hairgrafts, the advantage of this technique is that the new transplanted hair will not have the look of what´s commonly called “doll´s hair”and the patient will have less visible scars.

On the next day, the plastic surgeon will evaluate the surgery and very gently clean up the scalp with a special soft shampoo.  Most of the patients have indicated that they don´t need to take pain killers at all after the procedure.

If the patient wants, he can return home the next day and go back to his normal activities. After another two weeks, he can ask his primary physician to have his suture points at the back of his head removed. Or, if he has time off, he can take a vacation here and have the suture points removed in Guatemala.

WHAT´S NEXT ? = … HAIR GROWTH

The patient does not have to worry or do anything about his hair transplants. He should just leave it over to Mother Nature: the hair will regrow by itself. After 3 weeks, some fine hairs from the affected area will be shedded off,  which is normal, but the hair follicles (= the roots) remain, and after 3 months approximately, the new hair will come out:  this growth process is entirely natural.

The maximum hair growth occurs between 10 to 12 months for men; women have to wait between 16 to 18 months for a complete hair growth.

The good news is that the hair follicles that have been moved to the top or front of the head retain their immunity against the DHT-hormone, so that baldness never occurs again.