Question:

It's really amazing seeing some hair transplant surgeons here reaching above 5000 grafts in one operation. How on earth do they do that? And top that with the fact they leave minimal scarring. I think that those who do their first procedure should be granted 5000 grafts at least if they're experiencing advanced hair loss, that is, if they want to do follicular unit hair transplant surgery (FUT). I am really impressed by those surgeons who are masters of megasessions FUT.

Answer:

Here are the ingredients to a hair transplant ultra megasession: Take vast amounts of surgical experience, a very large and dedicated staff, and combine it with a patient with incredible donor characteristics including a super elastic scalp and above average donor density.

Ultimately, even if a hair restoration clinic is equipped to handle these types of ultra hair transplant megasessions, only a select few patients are actual candidates. A surgeon has to be able to harvest a long and wide enough strip to obtain these large numbers. For instance, in order to obtain 5280 follicular units in a single session on a patient averaging 80 FU/cm2 donor density, a qualified hair transplant surgeon will have to harvest a strip that's 30cm long and 2.2cm wide.

In conclusion, large ultra megasessions are possible, but not everyone is a candidate and not every clinic is equipped to handle them.

Bill Seemiller (Falceros) - Associate Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q & A Blog.
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