The cause of male pattern baldness is no longer a mystery. Research has shown that when the male hormone - testosterone is exposed to 5-alpha-reductase, an enzyme in the hair follicle, it produces another hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which causes permanent hair loss. This hormone (DHT) causes the hair follicle to shrink and grow a finer hair that is lighter in color, shorter and less deeply rooted than its predecessor. Most often, the hair in the balding region will continue to grow at an increasingly slower rate until hair growth ceases completely. The pattern of progression, and the extent and speed of male pattern baldness, is largely dictated by genetics, hormones and age. For men, this permanent type of baldness generally follows specific patterns. Even in the most extensive cases, a horseshoe shaped fringe of hair remains. This donor fringe is insensitive to the balding process and will last a lifetime. This is because this hair is genetically programmed in the root, or hair follicle, to be resistant to the effects of DHT.

The hair in this donor area provides the basis for surgical hair transplantation. These hairs, when transplanted into thinning or balding areas, will take root and grow, and continue to grow for the rest of a person's life.

Hair transplantation is an artistic redistribution system that takes donor dominant hair follicles from the very back of the head and artfully transplants them into thinning or balding areas. With current microsurgical technologies, this results in a very natural appearance. Basically we take hair from where you have more than you need and put it where you need it more. How long do transplants last? For the vast majority of patients, virtually all transplanted hair lasts a lifetime. Rarely, a small percentage of transplanted hair may be lost as the patient ages.

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This depends on the size of the bald area as well as on the donor area. When there is extensive baldness, it is better to place the donor hair artistically in a pattern to give the maximum coverage.

The transplanted hair generally sheds within the first 2-3 weeks after the procedure and new hair begins to grow approximately 2-8 months later. The hair then grows at the normal rate of 1/2 inch each month. The transition from thinning or baldness to greater fullness of hair is very gradual.

The great majority of our patients are quite comfortable both during and after their hair transplantation procedure. As you would expect, local anesthetics are used during the procedure. Being a surgical procedure, you would be prescribed certain antibiotics and pain killers to be taken for 5 to 10 days after the procedure.

Perhaps some day hair transplantation physicians will be able to clone hair follicles from a patient's donor area. This could potentially allow a patient a virtually unlimited supply of balding resistant donor hair. This would be of particular value to patients who have very little donor hair available for hair transplanting. Although this potential advancement is exciting, it is currently only in the early test stages. And it will probably be very expensive if and when first introduced. For those who are good hair transplantation candidates with sufficient donor hair, there is no reason to wait for cloning, if and when it comes.

The key to follicular unit transplantation is to identify the patient's "natural hair groupings" and use them intact to create from "micro follicular unit hair grafts" that are composed of naturally occurring 1, 2, 3 and 4 hair grafts. These follicular unit micrografts are much smaller than traditional untrimmed micrografts that contain equivalent amounts of hairs. Their size enables larger numbers of them to be placed in tinier, less traumatic incisions closer together. Using this advanced technique a surgeon can move more hair in a totally natural way - creating a natural look at every stage of hair transplantation.

It's known that using small follicular unit grafts of 1 to 4 hairs and large sessions of 2000-4000 grafts is the ideal procedure for a patient who wants to achieve the most natural result with the least number of sessions. As beneficial as it is for the patient, it is equally unappealing for the physician performing the hair transplantation procedure. This procedure requires the physician to be more detailed and exact, both in the cutting and placing of the graft. Using smaller grafts results in the need for more of them, thus it is more labour intensive. It necessitates a larger staff and longer time commitment to achieve the desired result. While it is more labour intensive and therefore more costly to the clinic, the belief is that the doctors should bear this added financial burden. This is because they're not moving that much more hair, they're just moving it in a better manner. Some hair transplantation physicians say there is not sufficient circulation in the recipients site to place 2000-4000 grafts and ensure successful growth. That is not true. It may be the case with sessions of 1500 to 2000 grafts IF grafts larger than four hairs follicular units are used. And it's usually physicians using grafts of this size that make this statement. However, hair transplantation mega sessions of 2000-4000 grafts with grafts of 1-4 hairs are completely successful. Performing sessions any smaller would be counter productive as it would not maximize the procedures potential.

How much work you will need depends on various factors - such as, how much hair loss you have now, the amount of hair loss you will have in time, and your goals and expectations - or how thick you need it to be.

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The short answer is yes, as long as the women's hair loss is concentrated in defined areas like in the classic male pattern baldness (i.e. the woman's hair loss can not be too diffuse or thin throughout their entire scalp). Consider what Dr. Dow Stough, hair transplant surgeon in Texas writes about women hair loss - "Hair loss in women is culturally unacceptable despite the fact that up to 40% of the female population experience some hair loss in their lifetime. It is not uncommon, but the stigma attached to female baldness is an extremely stressful and unwelcome event. In fact, androgenic alopecia in women can be psychologically debilitating. There have been several medical studies which have concluded that although alopecia is clearly a distressing experience for both sexes, it's effect is much more problematic in women. Most women go to extremes to conceal and treat their hair loss, they use a broad array of creative camouflaging and hair thickening cosmetic techniques in an attempt to mask the condition. Women who are experiencing hair loss should undergo a thorough investigation by a dermatologist. The medical workup and testing for women with hair loss is very involved and time consuming. The most difficult cases, are women with diffuse hair loss, i.e. balding which is not concentrated in the frontal regions of the scalp. In cases of nonpatterned alopecia, a dermatologist will usually recommend laboratory tests, which may include a complete blood count, iron levels and thyroid studies. An extensive medical drug history and family hair loss history must also be obtained, and in some cases testing for a hormonal imbalance is warranted. For those women who do not have diffuse alopecia, the diagnosis is simplified and much more direct. These women are classified by the Ludwig classification system. There are three categories; Ludwig I, Ludwig II, and Ludwig III. Those with a Ludwig I pattern are not candidates for any surgical treatment. They are best treated with topical treatments. Patients with more advanced hair loss, those who are classified as Ludwig II or Ludwig III categories, are possible candidates for hair transplantation. They are acceptable candidates if they have an adequate amount of donor density. The donor area is the hair found in the back of the scalp. In those women who have complete balding in the central and frontal of the scalp, hair transplants are a viable option. The results from this transplantation can be truly outstanding since many women retain the frontal hairline and it does not need to be recreated. Hair transplantation in women with hair loss caused by cosmetic surgery also yields excellent results. By camouflaging the scars resulting from brow lifts or facelifts these patients are able to achieve their expectations".

We certainly invite you to bring a friend if he is interested. It won't affect fees. Currently our fee structure is very competitive and it's the same for everyone. Quality, density and natural results are more important.

Hair pieces can be worn between surgical visits if you want, as long as proper hygiene and ventilation of the scalp are maintained.

While Propecia(Finasteride) and Rogaine(Minoxidil) have been proven to regrow hair, they will not grow all your hair back. Both products have not been proven to grow any significant hair in the frontal temple area, which is the main area of concern for most people. Their greatest benefit seems to be in slowing down the hair loss process.

Scalp reductions were first introduced in the mid-1970s as a way of treating an individual with a midline bald spot. Although several design approaches can be used, an elliptical approach is generally the most common. With this procedure, an ellipse of bald skin is removed centrally in the crown area and the hair-bearing scalp on the sides of the head is stretched toward the middle to obtain closure. Because scalp reductions do not allow for an upward and forward advancement of the entire scalp, they are not effective in treating patients who possess or have the potential for more extensive baldness. Due to this inherent surgical limitation, as well as the aesthetic drawbacks, which include an excessive stretching back of the bald area and increased receding at the temples, the scalp reduction procedure is considered outdated for the treatment of moderate to extensive baldness. Newer hair transplantation procedures offer more predictable and better aesthetic results, and often require fewer surgical sessions.

The scalp is very elastic. When the donor strip of hair is removed, the scalp on both sides is just pulled together and sutured. The only evidence of surgery is a suture line hidden under the hair that grows vertically on the back of the head.

Elective surgery to improve physical appearance is universally accepted and is being performed successfully everywhere there are qualified specialists. Hair transplantation procedures differ from general surgery, however, in that they involve only the outer layers of the body.

The discomfort associated with hair transplantation surgery is usually comparable to that of dental surgery. Pain medication is always offered, though its use is limited generally to the first few days after surgery.

Your newly restored hair will grow and require the same maintenance as your original head of hair. It's your hair and can be colored, permanently waved or styled in a variety of ways suitable to your lifestyle. You can even shave them off, they will grow right back.

Dr. A's clinic does not feel that the laser benefits the patient. It can damage healthy hair follicles, have a negative impact on scalp elasticity, and in general, slow down the healing process. The use of lasers in hair restoration has diminished greatly in the last few years.

Selecting the right physician is a very big decision because the quality varies widely. Actually seeing a "Sample" of your hair transplant specialist's ability on top of your scalp is the only gold standard. You can see how closely he can place these grafts, whether there will be any scarring and whether the surgeon has the proper aesthetic sense to give good looking hair. At Dr.A's clinic we go one step further. Our smallest sample costs the patient only INRs.5000/-. And we are willing to return even that amount if any patient can get a better quality hair grafting "Sample" done anywhere else in the world.

The criteria for judging the quality of the grafting are very simple :

• The number of grfts per square centimeter.
• The quality of grafting i.e follicular micrografts bearing 1 to 2 hair, rather than punch grafts / minigrafts.
• Proper direction of these grafts as compared to surrounding hair.
• All hair grafts should point in same direction rather than haphazardly.
• At Dr.A's Clinic we can place 40 to 70 grafts / cm2.

Preexisting medical conditions are always a concern of your Dr A's clinic. If you have a preexisting medical condition, please tell your Senior Counselor at the time of your consultation. For your convenience, we have listed responses from some of the most frequently asked medical questions:

• We have a dedicated technical team devoted to give you latest in hair transplant.
• We take pride in telling that we are able to perform 2000-4000 follicular micrografting session in a single day which I must add is considered the best in the field.
• We have a quality procedure which includes ability to place follicular units at 60-80 grafts per centimeter sq.
• World's lowest cost $1 per graft (Approx.).

Whenever human skin is cut, it always heals by the process called "fibrosis". This fibrosis (commonly known as scarring) is the skin's way of healing. Thanks to the skill of our experienced hair transplantation surgeons, the healing sites in the transplanted areas are usually so small that the fibrosis is virtually undetectable. At Dr A's clinic , hair transplantation procedures are designed to produce a very natural look. In the great majority of cases, the microtechnologies currently used at Dr A's clinic make the restored hairline virtually undetectable.

Yes, hair can be grafted in between existing hair. We normally prefer to trim the existing hair if we are to graft hair in between them. But whether or not it will actually lead to an increased apparent hair density depends upon the individual patients genetically programmed hair loss pattern too. In simple terms, we graft hair, which will keep growing thereafter, but even we cannot predict when and if you will lose your pre existing hair.