HISTORY OF HAIR TRANSPLANTATION
Alopecia is a common phenomenon that affects many people all over the world. Some live very well with hair loss, while others seek solutions such as hair surgery. However, the desire to have dense hair is not only a desire of the modern age. People have actually been considering baldness treatments for a long time, and years of research have been done to perfect FUE and DHI techniques if hair implants are currently considered one of the most effective methods of regaining hair growth.
Here is a brief overview of the history of hair transplantation.
It begins in the land of the rising sun
The beginning of hair transplant history in Japan goes back to 1930. Dr. Sasagawa made the first attempts to transplant hair follicles into human skin here.
Nine years later, another Japanese dermatologist, Dr. Okuda tells about a new hair transplant method. It would later be known as the so-called staple technique.
Dr. Okuda took the scalp from the injured areas of her eyebrows or the upper lips of burn victims. This new hair, grafted in this way, naturally started to grow back.
He decided to use two to four millimeters in diameter hair follicles for transplantation. However, compared to the existing hair transplantation, this method was still very primitive and left scars on the treated areas.
Hair transplant history: origins of the strip technique
The next chapter in the history of hair transplantation was written in 1943. Also in Japan, dermatologist Dr. In conjunction with Tamura, this uses a method of smaller grafts, each containing one to three hairs.
He made it by cutting a spindle-shaped strip on the scalp. The technique was very similar to that used so far.
Dr. Tamura published the results in various Japanese medical journals. However, these consequences were ignored in the Western world for a long time due to the Second World War.
New York predecessors of the FUT method
Another important step in the history of hair transplantation was taken in the USA in 1959. Dr. Norman Orentreich noted that there are areas on the head protected by hereditary alopecia.
As a rule, the remaining hair forms a crown located on the back of the head. These have the advantage of preserving their longevity, unlike hair that has already failed.
From this hair ring, Orentreich removed the roots of the hair and then transplanted into bald areas. The American doctor used a metal cylinder to take four millimeter grafts from the donor area. She then re-transplanted these into bald areas where they quickly grew.
These discoveries marked the beginning of the age of aesthetic hair transplantation. The same techniques are still applied by doctors around the world and are used by more and more patients.
The methods developed by Orentreich and Okuda became the norm over the next 30 years. During this period, there was no significant progress in the history of hair transplantation.
Towards more natural hair transplants in the 80s
Until the 1980s, hair transplanted with the “punch” method had not yet been universally accepted. Freshly inserted hair generally did not look very natural. We also talked about the “Barbie doll” effect in professional circles.
As a result, several doctors started using even smaller micrografts (one to four hair follicles). This development in the history of hair transplantation made the procedure even more popular. Unfortunately, the transplanted hair still did not seem to give natural results in many patients.
Dr. Carlos Oscar Uebel
The aforementioned Strip method was also used in the 1980s by Brazilian scientist Dr. It was reviewed by Carlos Oscar Uebel. It used an adjacent strip of the donor area instead of individual grafts. He did this using a scalpel where he split this band, which he then reintegrated into the receiving regions.
Discovery of follicular units
The history of hair transplantation Dr. It continues thanks to Bob Limmer. During the preparation of some grafts under the microscope – possibly by accident – he made a discovery. There he saw that the hair naturally grows not individually, but in small groups.
These follicular units (UFs) consist of one to three or, in exceptional cases, four hair follicles. This discovery proved that the use of UF as a graft gives a much more natural appearance than micro-grafts used until now.
1990s: start of FUE transplant
In the 1990s, most hair transplant institutes changed the “staple” method to the “strip” method. At the same time, Australian doctors Dr. Angela Campbell and her brother Dr. Ray Woods discovered a new way to remove hair follicles. After realizing that cutting wide strands of scalp causes unnecessary pain to patients.
They used fine needles instead of scalpels and perfected the extraction of follicular units. This method, which is more comfortable for patients, is now known as the FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) method. This became popular in the early 2000s and is now considered the gold standard.
Current and future status of hair transplantation
The FUE technique, developed by Campbell and Woods, has since been used by Dutch Dr. Coen Gho, Canadian Doctor Robert Jones and American Dr. It was developed by John Cole shortly after the turn of the millennium. They improved their Australian colleagues’ process by adapting it for collective use.
However, the history of hair restoration continues to evolve. For example, some scientists are currently working on how to perfect extraction instruments.
Recent developments have made it possible to develop a specialized robot in hair transplantation. Another equally promising technique will allow future use of stem cells to clone follicular units. However, these budgets with an estimated price range between 6,000 and 25,000 € will not be accessible by all budgets.
Dates to remember in the history of hair transplantation
1930: Japanese Doctor Sasagawa started the first experiments in hair transplantation.
1939: Japanese dermatologist Dr. He developed the punch technique in Okuda.
1959: American Doctor Norman Orentreich became the pioneer of modern hair surgery.
80s and 90s: FUT transplant improves and improves.
The FUE method became standard at the beginning of the XXI century. Since then perfected with the DHI technique
Result
As you just read, the history of hair transplantation goes back to the last century. From its inception in Japan to its many years of development, so hair implants became necessary. Over time, many doctors and scientists managed to perfect the techniques currently used.
Over time, FUE hair transplant has proven itself to be the most reliable hair transplant for improving your hair. This has also been perfected by the DHI method.
The Dr. Balwi is one of the pioneers of this technique. Since then he has performed more than 20,000 hair surgery procedures and gained a great deal of experience in this field.
Benefit from over 10 years of expertise in this field and the guarantee of dense hair while saving money, thanks to our all-inclusive prices.
