Q: I am a 27 year old male. I want to know the details about hair transplantation. Please provide complete details, as much as possible. Is there any age limit? Is it necessary to be completely bald to have this surgery? (i.e. If a person has hair with less density on his head, will it affect the transplantation process? Is it possible to plant the hairs in-between those hairs?) What will be the charges? Normally what will be the charges for a Rajiv Gandhi type baldness? Is it necessary to have any pre-treatment before transplantation? Will it work-out even if my father and grandfather has the same problem? (Is heredity a factor?) Is any other restrictions there for taking this surgery? Any follow-up required? Is it necessary to take any tablets/apply oil on the head after treatment? Normally from where the hairs will be taken? Will hair grow in those places again? Could you please refer some doctors in Tamilnadu/Karnataka? What is H.T.S. Calvitron? I saw this in National Skin and Hair Care Centres web site? Can I take treatment there? How long will it take to have complete hair on head? Will the planted hair fall again? Is any restrictions there after plantation like food, swimming, applying oil, etc. Any side effects there in this treatment? Please guide me in this regard.

A:Hair transplantation (HT) is done at our clinic by the Mini- and Micro- graft technique. The hair which are transplanted in the bald area are permanent, do not fall, grow like normal hair and subsequently need hair cuts. You can apply oil or shampoo on them and comb them to your desired style. The operation is done on an out patient basis and the patient goes home immediately after the operation. It takes 4 to 5 hours for one session where approximately 2000 hairs (i.e. 500 plugs) are transplanted. The charges for my team for transplanting 500 plugs is Rs. 25,000/-(@ Rs. 50/- per plug). The Nursing Home charges are Rs. 5000/-to 10,000/- for using the O.T. instruments and medicines. We have transplanted over 350 cases till now, and all are very happy. For large areas of baldness, we have transplanted upto 1200 plugs in a sitting in 6 to 7 hours. Regarding your questions, most have been answered already, but some more clarifications are here. 1. There is no age limit for HT. 2. You need not shave or cut your hair before surgery - it can be done in between transplanted hair. 4. No extensive pre-treatment is required. 5. Heredity factor is the commonest cause. It does not affect your results. 6. There are a few post-HT instructions, but these are not extensive. 7. Hair is taken from the permanent hair area at the back of the head. There is no baldness caused by this. 9. HTS Calvitron is Hair Transplant where the cutting of the plugs is by a machine. It is of limited use, and there is a lot of loss of hair by this technique - I do not use it. 10. The transplanted hair grow after 3 months of the surgery. 12. There are no side effects of hair transplantation.