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Artificial Fibers in Hair Transplant

Artificial hair fibre implantation is one of the earliest methods of hair restoration. As hair restoration surgery became a widely practiced cosmetic procedure, many companies and hair restoration surgeons around the world experimented with different types of artificial fibers which could give the appearance of hair. Natural hair from other persons were also tried.

However, artificial fiber very soon fell into disrepute. Hair from other persons gave rise to serious host vs graft reactions and were rejected by the scalp immediately. It was found that artificial fibers also gave rise to a similar reaction and were rejected by the scalp which ejected them leaving behind scars and granulomatous tissue. There were also severe infections leaving the patient worse off than before with a cosmetically scarred scalp.

This led to the FDA banning artificial fibers for hair transplant in 1984 and artificial fibers are banned till today in the US and Canada.

However, since then, there has been a lot of advance in the material of the fibers. While the early fibers used polyacrylic material, the present fibers use polyamide and this has a big advantage over the earlier ones in that it is much less allergenic.

However the procedure of artificial fibre implant continues to have a number of problems as a result of which it has never become popular and its use is very restricted. There are two main fibres being used today around the world, Biofibre and Nido.

Biofibre is made in Italy and it is the most widely used among artificial fibres.

It is licensed in most European countries and many other countries around the world and has applied for FDA approval in the US though this approval has not yet been granted. Nido is used mainly in Japan. Both these fibres are available in India and there is no restriction in the use of artificial fibres in India.

The fibres are available in varying lengths upto 15 cm and the patient can choose the length of hair he wants. There are also three different textures of straight, wavy and curly. Diameter is .08mm. The fibres are inserted by a special method with a knot into the galea, the layer just above the bone of the head. Patients do not have to undergo the process of donation and so the procedure is shorter than that of a normal transplant. The fibres of course do not grow in length. Patients can wash and comb their hair but need to be extra careful while doing these activities.

Despite technological advances in materials, artificial fibres have very limited acceptability throughout the world and this is due to the limitations inherent in the technique.

The disadvantages of artificial fibre transplant are:

Temporary: This is the main disadvantage of artificial fibres. The immediate allergic reactions which led to early rejection of the fibres has now been mostly eliminated and only about 1% of people suffer allergic reactions. But the fibres continue to have foreign body reactions and are gradually expelled by the body. About 30-50% of fibres are ejected in a year after the transplant. This means that by 2 years most people need a repeat transplant. This is the main drawback of the procedure. As artificial fibres are somewhat more expensive than normal hair transplant, this means that the patient has to spend much more if he opts for artificial fibre, besides the hassles of repeated procedures.

Granulomatous reactions: The fibres continue to evoke a foreign body reaction and this leads to granulomatous tissue formation around the follicles. This leads very commonly to infections and causes folliculitis. Sometimes it can lead to severe infections. Patients have to return to the clinic every month to have their scalp cleaned. The biggest disadvantage from granulomatous reactions is that this can lead to scarring of the scalp which makes it unsightly. Even if the patient is ready to do repeated transplants the scalp condition itself does not permit it after a couple of procedures. Also the scalp becomes unsuitable for normal hair transplant after artificial hairs have been implanted two or three times.

Besides these two main drawbacks of artificial fibres, there are several other disadvantages of this technique.

Regular follow-up: regular follow-up is required at the doctor’s to maintain the fibres. Usually monthly checkups are required. This is necessary to keep the scalp clean, remove any granulations, remove any loose fibres, etc. Without regular checkups longevity of the fibres will be greatly reduced.

Extra care: the patient has to be very careful in maintaining his hair. Extra care is required in combing, washing and drying hair as the fibres might fall with vigorous maneuvers.

Inability of styling: The patient has to keep the same style of hair chosen initially. The hair cannot be dyed or waved. Patient also cannot shave his head.

Differences in color, texture and waviness: though many variations are available in color, it is very difficult to get the exact match of color, waviness and texture combined. Hence the artificial fibres are always somewhat different.

Lack of growth: Since the fibres do not grow in length, this poses difficulties as the rest of the hair will grow and the patient has to be extra careful while getting a hair cut to ensure the barber does not cut the artificial hair.

Breaking of fibre: the fibres can also break off leaving behind the root in the scalp and this can cause irritation and granulomatous reactions for a long time as these short roots do not come out easily.

Because of all these attendant disadvantages and hassles, artificial fibre implant has never become popular. It is not in common use and only a few clinics do it throughout the world. In India, it is available in a clinic in Pune but may be available in some other centers also.

Artificial Fibre Implant does have a specific role and this is in cases of severe balding with insufficient donor area. It is also the only procedure possible in complete alopecia. It may also be considered by patients who desire a very luxuriant crop of hair beyond the limits of their donor area.

In all other cases, hair transplant with patient's own hair is undeniably the procedure of choice.

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Quality assuarance

Arogyam Hair Transplant Clinic takes several steps to ensure that quality is maintained for each and every patient. The key to quality maintenance is to implement quantizable quality standards and maintain proper documentation and review of processes. Downtown Hospital is an ISO 9001:2008 and NABH accredited hospital which demands strict adherence to quality control.Steps taken are:

Safety assurance: all procedures are done in the main OT of Downtown Hospital with its full complement of anesthesiologists and critical care specialists. Hence patients are assured of full safety standards at the same level as that of major surgeries including transplant surgeries. 

Sterilization assurance: since procedures are done in the major OT full sterilization is maintained. Fumigation is done every week and swab tests are done to check for contamination.

Best instrumentation: Arogyam Hair Transplant Clinic uses the best available instruments like 6X Heine Loupe for precision and accuracy, Blunt Titanium punches which avoids damage and transection of the Follicular Units, Choi implanters to standardise the process of planting and prevent damage during planting, Major OT level sterilization, fumigation and autoclaving of all instruments, etc.

Efficiency count: Efficiency counts for FUE like transection rates and speed of transplant are noted and documented for each case and reviewed every 10 cases. Arogyam Hair Transplant achieves international standards of transection and speed consistently.

Counting trays: Counting trays are used to contain the follicular units and all patients are given photographs on their mobiles which they can use to easily count the number of follicular units taken out so that they can be sure that they have received the correct number of FU's.

Dr. P. J. Mazumdar is the first and only American Board Certified Diplomate of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery and all procedures are done following the ethical and technical guidelines of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery and the International Society for Hair Restoration Surgery. As such, patients can be assured of receiving full professional care as per International standards approved by the ABHRS and ISHRS.

Correct recepient density: To ensure correct recepient density, 'density stamps' are used to ensure proper density is achieved. Angle and direction of hair is meticulously maintained.

Out of body time: The out of body time, the time for which the follicular unit is outside the body, is the most critical factor for success in hair transplant. Aroyam Hair Transplant follows a special procedure to ensure that this time is the minimum. This is done by doing only 1000 follicular units at a time and then replanting them. This ensures that time out of body is less than or equal to1 hour only. This is the shortest period acheivable. Many centers do upto 2000-2500 follicular units at a time so that time out of body goes upto 4-5 hours. We are proud of our time out of body quantum. Though this may cause some sacrifice of time but results are more important.

Follow up: follow up period is critical for the patient when there are many doubts and anxieties in his mind. In our clinic, Dr. P. J. Mazumdar will remain always accessible to the patient directly on his personal mobile for any questions the patient may have during this period.   

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Disclaimer: Results can vary from person to person. Hair Transplant is a surgical procedure and consists only of removing hair from hair growing regions and restoring it to hair deficient regions.

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The academic certificates of Dr. P. J. Mazumdar may be examined here: Academic Certificates. His resume can be perused here: Resume. To find the contact address and other details, go to Contact. The blog contains various blog posts mainly on Hair Transplant.  To see photos of hair transplant cases done in Downtown Hair transplant clinic, go to Photos>Results from the Navigation menu. To see videos related to Hair Transplant Procedure, go to Photos>Videos from the Navigation menu.