How do the skills and quality of hair transplant technicians matter?

May 23, 2019 | By Dr. Sangay Bhutia (Hair Transplant Specialist in Delhi)

Hair transplant procedures are giving hope and a new lease of life to millions of men facing permanent hair loss. Hair transplant or hair restoration surgery, the only permanent solution to male pattern baldness or Androgenic Alopecia, is now easily available, affordable, and delivers more aesthetically pleasing results than it ever has. That said, hair transplantation is also a procedure, which will bear best results only if performed by an experienced and skilled surgeon assisted by a proficient team.

Let us explain. Now, it is easy to be enamoured by throwaway prices and flashy advertising, but it is important not to get carried away and choose who you want to get your surgery done by, carefully. Going by the lowest price or the best advertising is a terrible idea.

Hair transplant has some risks associated with it, like scarring, failed transplants and botched procedures. Hair transplant techniques – Follicular Unit Transplant (FUT) and Follicular Unit Excision (FUE) – are not like other surgeries where only the surgeon’s skill and knowledge is important. A good hair transplant surgeon has to have the knowledge, skill, talent, precision, and the eye of an artist, and a team that can complement that.



Let's first understand what happens during the procedure. Hair follicles or grafts are first extracted from the patient's donor areas, the back and sides of the scalp, that are immune to hair fall. These are subsequently implanted onto the bald and balding spots. Sounds fairly simple, right? However in practice, it is a lot more complex. It requires the surgeon to understand a patient's requirements, what will be an age-appropriate hairline and the direction of hair growth

The surgeon’s team’s most important role is in handling grafts. Now, when extracted, the grafts are either kept in a holding solution or immediately implanted. The grafts are extremely delicate and they risk desiccation or extreme drying if not handled carefully and if exposed to air for too long. The surgeon’s assistants and technicians have to have the skill to handle the grafts with utmost care. They have to have the requisite experience in being a part such delicate procedures.

The patient also risks suffering chronic folliculitis if there is failure to maintain hygiene during the procedure. The patient can also have poor hair growth if the grafts were not preserved carefully after the extraction. If the grafts suffer extreme dryness, they will not regrow in the recipient area.

In FUT procedures, the technicians dissect hair follicles under a microscope and place them in incisions made by the surgeon, while the surgeon harvests hair follicles. In these cases, to check up on the formal degree and training, and experience of technicians becomes important.

Poorly trained technicians can affect the results of the surgery. It is in fact important for all patients undergoing hair transplant to not just enquire about the surgeon but about the technicians as well. Patients can ask whether the technicians have been trained as medical or surgical assistants, and also as hair transplant assistants.

The best and safest surgeries, which deliver the most aesthetically pleasing results, are performed by a surgeon with a good team of assistants and technicians.