Counting Hairs and not just Grafts

One) Is the goal, really, the number of hairs you receive in a hair transplant and not necessarily just the number of grafts? Two) Would you approach a doctor by just asking him/her “How many hairs/grafts will I be getting in the end” or do they just come out and tell you as a rule of practice? Thank you.

Since some hair transplant clinics create smaller grafts that contain less hairs, while others create grafts that contain more hairs it is useful to not only count the number of grafts transplanted but also the number of hairs. This way patients can compare various hair transplant techniques and clinics using an “Apples to Apples” measurement. Ultimately it is the total number of hairs that are successfully transplanted and growing that largely determines a patients final results.

So I do think that patients should gauge a potential hair transplant session by not only considering the number of estimated grafts but also hairs. This will vary from patient to patient since some people’s naturally occurring follicular units have a higher or lower number of hairs on average (i.e. one patient may have many follicular units that contain 3 or 4 hairs each, while another patient may have follicular units that are primarily composed of 1 or 2 hairs).

Most hair restoration clinics do keep detailed records of each surgical session (“count sheets”) that give a break down of how many 1, 2, 3 or 4 hair follicular unit grafts were created and transplanted by the medical technicians. I encourage all patients to ask for such information immediately after their surgery, especially if they intend to share their experience on our discussion forum.

Thanks for your excellent question.

Pat – Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q & A Blog. To share ideas visit our Hair Restoration Discussion Forum.

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