A flap is a piece of tissue that is still connected to the body by a vein, major artery or at its base. Hair transplants may temporarily give you back that natural hairline you once had.
Scalp flap surgery is a remarkable hair restoration surgical treatment that involves a transfer of a flap of skin and underlying tissues from one area of the scalp to another.
A flap is a piece of tissue that is still connected to the body by a vein,
major artery or at its base. This piece of tissue with its attached blood supply is used in reconstructive surgery by being set into a recipient site (injured area or area of hair loss). Sometimes, the flap is made up of skin and fatty tissue only, but a flap may also include muscle from the donor site (the area from which the flap is raised).
Skin that can still be used for hair growth is repositioned on the head so it maintains the same thickness and texture. In this procedure, a piece of skin left attached above the ears is taken. With the shape of a banana, it is lifted up and rotated to the area of hair loss. The bald skin is to be removed, discarded, and the flap is to be laid and stretched together at the edges. Dr. Fleming stated “The bandages are on for 3 or 4 days, when you take off the bandage, you have hair immediately. It has normal, uniform thickness so whatever you had on the side is what you get on top. It’s quicker, it’s immediate, and it doesn’t change the texture nor the density as the patient had originally.”
Possible side effects of scalp flap surgery are the following:
• Blood supply failure to the flap due to “kinking” or pressure on the flap’s blood supply that can result in partial or total loss of the flap.
• Nerve transaction during surgery that can cause loss of feeling over all or part of the scalp.
• Scarring at donor or recipient sites.
• Permanent hair loss at donor sites.
There are many advantages of scalp expansion technique used in the scalp flap surgery. These advantages include the following:
• Excellent frontal scalp coverage
• Natural frontal hairline
• Excellent hair placement in temporal areas
• Good hair direction
• Avoidance of hair pattern distortion
There have been a lot of developments in the field of plastic surgery in recent years and surgeons combine scalp flap and scalp reduction surgery for better hair coverage of the crown on the scalp.
As for your treatment, discuss with your doctor how you would prefer the non-invasive, no-side-effect, and 100% safe yet effective hair loss treatment. Ask about the advantages and disadvantages of laser therapy in a clinic as compared to the benefits you get using laser therapy at home in the form of cordless laser combs. Lastly, keep in mind that the way to successfully achieve your goal is consistent and continuous use of whatever hair loss treatment you’ll come up with.
Hair transplants may temporarily give you back that natural hairline you once had. But since hair loss is a chronic condition, the surgery needs to be repeated with upwards of 3 surgeries to cover continuing hair loss. Can you imagine doing this for the rest of your life?
