Basic Concepts:

It is the surgical replacement of the hair from the “relative permanent donor” on the back of the scalp to the bald area.Hair follicle It is considered to be an individual hair.

Graft (Follicular units)

Normally on human scalp hair are present in bundles rather than individual units.One graft means a bunch of hair which might range from 2 to 6 hair follicles.

Recipient area

The area is where transplant is to be done.

Donor area

It is the area on the scalp from where the grafts are taken for hair transplantation. The Concept of “Donor dominance” explains very well why the transplanted hair will not fall once the transplant has been done in to the recipient area.The grafts extracted from the donor are relatively permanent as the roots of the donor zone are “testesterone resistant" and thus does not undergo significant thinning or fall for years together.Some patients called DUPA(Diffuse Patterned Androgenic alopecia) have a poor donor area and thinning even in the donor area , thus these patients are not very good candidates for hair transplant.

Recipient sites

These are fine slit like spaces created in the area of transplant so as to snugly fit the ex-tracted grafts.

Phenomenon of shedding

It happens in first 3 months of hair transplants due to shock/stress to the transplanted hair follicles. The stress is due to the removal of hair follicle, contact with saline solution and putting back into recipient sites.

Density:

It is the number of grafts (Follicular units) implanted per cm2. Generally the density can range from 20-40FU/cm2. In females and burn patients even density of 15FU/cm2 sometimes is useful depending upon the situation. Optimum density is the target, not too much not too less.Candidacy for hair transplant.

5 important criterion need to be taken into consideration:

1) Diagnosis of androgenetic alopecia or another condition amenable to hair trans-plant.
2) Adequate exploration of medical therapy atleast for period of 1 year
3) Sufficient hair loss to affect aesthetic appearance
4) Adequate Donor area
5) Realistic expectations of hair transplant