The Patient's Guide to Hair Restoration - New Hair Institute

Chapter 10
A Hair Transplant at NHI
When you arrive for your hair transplant, the NHI staff will begin by
reviewing the surgical process with you. Your NHI physician will review the goals
that had been established in prior consultations and will answer any last minute
questions. The doctor will take the time to be sure that there are no outstanding
issues, areas of confusion or concerns. The surgical consent forms (copies of
these forms will be sent to you when you schedule your surgery) will be reviewed
and signed, and pre-surgical photographs will be taken.
Length of the Procedure
Your Follicular Unit Transplant may require many hours of work by a team
of professionals. Some of the longest procedures (between 2000-2500+ grafts)
may take hours of surgery. During that time, your surgeon and several highly
trained technicians and/or nurses will participate in the process. The work must
be organized efficiently so that the total length of the procedure for the patient is
minimized. On average, a procedure of 1500 grafts would last about 6 hours.
The Surgical Experience
The procedure may be long, but for the patient the time goes by quickly.
You will be given a mild sedative so that you may sleep if desired, or may choose
to remain fully awake. Most patients watch television or movies or listen to
music for at least part of the time. We try to make your experience enjoyable so
that the actual time the surgery takes seems negligible. A relaxed and informal
atmosphere is encouraged so that the day goes by quickly and is a pleasurable
experience. The patient takes a series of breaks, to the bathroom, to eat lunch,
or to just stretch and move around. Patients often tell us that the experience of
being the focus of the day’s activities is wonderful.
Anesthesia
After the mild sedative is given orally, you will receive a small series of
injections of local anesthetic in the perimeter of the scalp. Any discomfort usually
only occurs in the beginning of the anesthetic administration. The actual hair
transplant procedure is painless. We also give routine antibiotics during the
procedure (but not afterwards).
We use a combination of lidocaine (Xylocaine), which you have probably been
given at your dentist, and a longer-acting local anesthetic called Marcaine.
Injections around the perimeter of the scalp (called a ring block) will numb the
entire scalp, and although this is uncomfortable, a little handholding will get you
through it just fine. Most of our offices also offer patients nitrous oxide to patients
during this time, and it can be of significant help. With this technique, there is no
need to apply anesthesia directly into the area that is being transplanted. Once
anesthetization is complete, there is generally no pain or discomfort during the