Who is a Good Candidate for a Hair Transplant?

There are many men and women who experience hair loss at some point in their life. The good news is that there is advanced technology available that can help eligible patients who are experiencing hair loss and their hair loss can be corrected with hair transplant surgery.

By talking with a hair transplant physician, they will be able to look at all of the factors that will determine if you are a good candidate or not. There are specific traits that your physician will look for before they will recommend the procedure for you, including your health, age, hair loss classification, lifestyle, and how committed you will be to the aftercare.

Your health will be a factor for any type of surgical procedure that you may need to undergo. Physicians will always make sure that you are healthy enough for the surgery and that your immune system is strong enough. If you are suffering from an illness or other medical condition, it will be recommended that you wait until you are treated and healthy enough before undergoing surgery. This will help to reduce any risk of having complications after the surgery. Also, if you have any type of chronic health condition, you should make sure that you let your physician know about this so they can develop a treatment plan specifically for your needs.

Although anyone may be a candidate for a hair transplant, younger people will need to take extra precautions if they are looking to have surgery. Since hair loss is a gradual process, younger people will probably not know exactly what the extent of their hair loss will be and what their hair loss will look like in the future. Also, if a person has a hair transplant surgery too young, they may need to have follow-up procedures in the future in order to ensure that they keep their natural looking results. As a general rule of thumb, patients who are over 30 are usually the best candidates, since their hair loss pattern will be established by that time and they are likely to experience long-term success from the surgery.

A thorough hair loss analysis will be conducted during an initial consultation and the physician will get the necessary information to determine what your hair loss classification is. How severe your hair loss is and how much donor hair you have available are very important factors in determining eligibility for surgery. The classification scale for women is the Ludwig Scale and the classification scale for men is the Norwood Scale.

Your lifestyle also plays a part in determining your candidacy, and your physician will ask you about your diet, sleep habits and exercise habits. What you eat, how much sleep you get and how often you exercise contribute to how strong your immune system is and if you have healthy habits, you are more likely to experience a better surgery with less recovery time and a lower risk of having a complication.

As it is with any surgery, your physician will also want to make sure that you are well aware of what will happen after you have surgery and find out how committed you are to following their aftercare instructions. Following the aftercare plan that your physician tells you will make your recovery period easier, reduce the risk of getting an infection and help your discomfort to a minimum.

Your physician will also make sure that you have enough information about the surgery and that you are setting realistic expectations for the outcome. Make sure that you ask questions and that you feel comfortable and confident about the procedure if you are a candidate and wish to proceed with surgery.