Hair Transplant Diary – Hair Restoration Clinic Blackrock
HRBR, Hair Restoration Clinic, has created a series of videos to assist anyone experiencing hair loss and considering their treatment options. Meet the team at HRBR, learn about the type of patients that we treat and follow the hair transplant diary of Mark Berry, a 37 year old patient at HRBR, as he goes through the process.
Introduction
Meet the consultant surgeons, doctors, nurses and technicians at the world leading, purpose built, hair restoration clinic in Blackrock Co. Dublin. The team of HRBR doctors and surgeons discuss the profile of their patients. At HRBR, we treat people from all walks of life and our patients are not just men. Ten percent of HRBR patients are women suffering from genetic hair loss, as well as children with congenital defects, burn and accident victims.
Privacy
Privacy is of paramount importance at our purpose built hair restoration clinic, and as a result, patients don’t meet each other. This commitment to privacy is delivered thanks to the use of private waiting rooms and consultation suites for all patients. All patients at HRBR have a private consultation with a qualified doctor and are provided with their treatment options. Armed with the information they require, patients are encouraged to take sufficient time to make a considered decision about their hair loss treatment.
Pre-Operative Appointment and Check Up
Assuming the patient is a suitable candidate for hair transplant surgery and has made the decision to go ahead with the procedure, a pre-operative appointment and health check is required. Here we meet Mark Berry to join him on his journey, via his hair transplant diary. There are three parts to this stage of the process:
- A health check consisting of a healthcare questionnaire, which the patient goes through with a registered nurse. This is followed by a detailed discussion of what is required of the patient before, during and after hair transplant surgery.
- A medical check including blood pressure test and ECG. As this is a surgical procedure, every necessary precaution is taken by the team.
- Exam of hair density and a hair count within the donor region. The purpose of this is to agree an initial plan for the distribution of the transplanted hair. This is done in consultation with the patient, and will be finalised on the day of surgery.
Videos of Marks’ Hair Transplant Diary
Day of Surgery
On the day of surgery, Mark is met by a discrete and private chauffeur service to drive him to the HRBR clinic in Blackrock. It’s a service provided by HRBR, meaning transport is one less thing for the patient to worry about on the day of surgery. Mark is then brought to his private room, which will be exclusively his to use.
The surgeons, nurses and transplant technicians meet to finalise the hair transplant design. Once the design is agreed, in consultation with Mark, the donor area is prepared. HRBR are experts in both methods of extraction for hair transplant procedures, Follicular Unit Extraction, FUE and Follicular Unit Transplantation, FUT (Strip method). In Mark’s case, FUT was agreed and a long narrow strip of hair was removed from the donor region of Mark’s head. This was then sent for grafting by the team of highly skilled nurses and technicians using high powered microscopes.
Mark explains that the FUT procedure is done in two stints, one before lunch and one after, so that the hair follicles are outside the body for the least amount of time possible, thus increasing their viability. Mark also seems pleasantly surprised by how little pain (if any) he experienced during the hair surgery. Before Mark leaves HRBR hair clinic, the team goes through his post-operative care routine with him, explaining what is required in the next 24 hours before he returns to HRBR for his next appointment.
One Day after Hair Surgery
Fifteen hours after his hair transplant procedure at HRBR, Mark returns for his post-operative check-up. He has been up all night spraying his head, into the transplanted area and the donor area to assist the healing process. As the grafts are extremely vulnerable at this stage it is important for the HRBR team to look things over and ensure everything is as it should be.
Mark’s hair transplant surgeon assesses both the grafts and the donor area to ensure that they are healing well at this early stage. A nurse also runs through Mark’s post-operative care for the next two weeks. They also prepare him for the fact that the grafted hairs will fall out in the next 2 to 3 weeks. The full results of the hair transplant will not be visible for 12 to 18 months once the hair follicles have produced mature hairs.
One Week after Surgery
One week after surgery Mark returns to get his stitches out, he is back to work and life has returned to normal. As the stitches are removed Marks comments that the scar in the donor area is invisible; even with short hair, nobody has noticed it.
What Comes Next?
This video was shot in early 2016, and the full results of Mark’s hair transplant surgery will not be apparent for 12 to 18 months post surgery. We will continue to follow him on his journey, and will meet him again at his follow up appointments with his hair transplant surgeon at both 6 months and 12 months post surgery.
Make an Appointment
If you have questions about hair loss or are considering your hair loss treatment options, why not arrange a consultation with one of the experts at HRBR? You’ll be meeting with a qualified doctor, not a sales person; and you’ll be presented with a personalised treatment plan for your consideration. Call us today on +353 1 2091000 or fill in our online enquiry form.
About the Author
DR Maurice Collins
Consultant Surgeon
MB, B.Ch, BAO, DLO, FRCSI, FRCS, FRCSEd.
Registered with the Medical Council of Ireland
Dr Collins is Medical Director and Team Principal of Hair Restoration Blackrock. He was educated at Belvedere College Dublin and did his undergraduate medical studies at University College Dublin. After graduating as a doctor he trained in General Surgery and received his Fellowship (FRCSI) in this specialty from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
Find out more about DR Maurice Collins and our team of doctors and surgeons.
