I am from Cyprus and I am a candidate for a transplant operation. I have found many answers to many of my questions in your site and I thank you for that. The reason I am getting in touch with you is that I have my doubts on the number of hair “roots” they can get per square centimeter for a hair transplant. Can you please inform me what is the MAXIMUM number of hair roots that can be taken from a square centimeter? I consider that important as the total cost of the operation depends completely on the number of hair the will transplant. For instance if the strip they will get is 28 square centimeters and with average density what would be a possible number ‘roots” to be transplanted

Thank you once again ! I look forward to hearing from you !

Answer:

When you say “roots,” I am assuming you are talking about hair “follicles,” as a follicle is the smallest unit which can be successfully transplanted. With that in mind, the average number of follicles per square centimeter donor tissue is roughly 100/cm. I have seen this number vary from between 40/cm to 160/cm. The higher the number, the more follicles the tissue provides. Someone with a density of 40/cm is unlikely to be a good candidate for surgery because of the low yield and because the donor region is so sparse that you would probably be able to see the donor scar.

Using your example of a 28 square cm donor section, the yield would be roughly 28 X 100 = 2,800 follicles. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the incision would be 28 cm in length. To calculate the surface area of donor tissue to be excised, you have to multiply the length of the incision by the average width. In my practice, I limit my donor incisions to 1.2 cm in width. Therefore, to obtain a 28 square cm section, my length of incision would be 28/1.2 = 23.3 cm.

Brandon Ross, MD
http://www.rmhri.com
IAHRS Recommended Hair Transplant Surgeon

Is numbness in the back/donor area permanent?

Answer:

The loss of feeling associated with the strip technique of donor hair harvesting should be temporary. The nerves in the back generally carry sensation vertically in an upward fashion. When the incision is made these nerves are severed, which causes a numb-type feeling directly above the incision line. The sensation in this region almost always returns to normal, but the length of time varies from person to person (usually anywhere from 2-3 weeks to a year). As the nerves gradually reconnect with one another, it is common for the patient to have a slight “pins-and-needles” feeling in a patchy distribution. Some things that could cause numbness to persist a bit longer are a history of prior scarring, keloids, and diabetes.-

Brandon Ross, MD
http://www.rmhri.com
IAHRS Recommended Hair Transplant Surgeon