Dr. Singh
Dr. Singh is a world renowned expert in the special considerations needed to successfully perform hair transplantation in patients with afro-textured hair. Hair transplantation in scarring alopecia can be performed after the scalp inflammation has been quiescent for at least 1-2 years and a test area may be performed prior to the full transplant.
FUT or Strip Excision
This technique is recommended for those with good donor supply and hair length at least
5-6 mm long. I recommend this technique for the majority of my female patients as the area that is trimmed is smaller. With FUT a strip is excised from the occipital scalp and then closed with sutures or staples, leaving a linear scar. The strip is dissected under the microscope into smaller 1-4 hair follicular units. This technique generally takes around 30 minutes to complete. This technique is contraindicated in those at risk for keloids. The donor area heals in 7-10 days.
Follicular unit Extraction
FUE is recommended in patients who wear their hair shorter, have low donor reserve, have a history of keloids, or who do not desire a linear scar. This technique utilizes a motorized device to harvest individual 1-4 hair follicular units. Dr. Singh uses one of the top hybrid punch devices known for extracting all hair types, especially tightly coiled hair, which can be more challenging. She has also been trained in the use of the robotic FUE device, ARTAS. It takes several hours to harvest the grafts with this technique. The donor area heals in 3 days.
Once the grafts have been harvested and trimmed, small incisions are made in the recipient area and the grafts are individually placed. This is an outpatient procedure performed under local anesthesia and sedative medication. The duration of the transplant depends on the harvesting technique and the number of grafts placed but generally can take 6-8 hours. The grafts generally heal overnight and the grafts will shed 1-2 weeks later. They will slowly cycle back in with full results within 9-15 months.
We always recommend medical therapy to maintain the existing hair because the final results equal the number of grafts minus ongoing hair loss.
