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12. Scalp Flaps :: Posted Thursday, May 24, 2001 by admin ::
This procedure takes a flap of hair bearing scalp and repositions it, generally as part of the hairline for greater density than normal transplant procedures. Scalp flaps are used mainly for reconstruction purposes, such as hair-free areas of the scalp created from accidents or skin cancer removal. section. Although, this technique was once used as a hair transplant procedure, the newer hair transplantation technique have replaced most flap work. Flap surgery is technically more difficult than the new transplant methods and requires more surgical skill. Long term complications of surgery, such as eventual necrosis of a flap, are more common.
When scalp flaps are done right, it offers the best results. Flap surgery can give you a perfect hair line with dense hair that looks normal in a couple of weeks. Unlike transplants, the hairs do not fall out after transplantation. The drawback is that it is very expensive and it is a much more serious surgery than most other hair restoration surgeries. Complications are rare when performed by an experienced doctor.
Flap surgery is performed in three steps. First, the sides of the flaps are separated from the surrounding skin. The front and rear end of the flap are not separated. The incisions are then closed and a dressing applied. A week later, the second procedure is performed. The procedure is identical to the first except the rear of the flap is now separated from the underlying tissue, then closed again. The purpose of these procedures is to force the flap of hair-bearing skin to get its blood supply from one end of the flap. A week later, the free end (previously cut) of the flap is transferred to a nearby balding area at the hair line under general anesthesia. Within a week, the stitches at the front hairline are removed and the stitches within the hair are removed within two weeks. The flap reattaches itself to the new area and the formerly bald area now has hair.
For patients who are bald at the crown or who bald later after the operation, a second flap operation can be performed. If this does not cover the remaining bald areas, scalp reductions can be performed between the flaps to eliminate or nearly eliminate all the balding areas. Thus flap surgery is really the only surgery so far that can give you a full head of hair with the density of a normal head of hair (or close enough to be undetectable).
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