PATIENT # 22

Hair Transplant Sessions: 2
Grafts Implanted: 3000

Female Hair Restoration Surgical Procedure: Follicular Unit Transplant (FUT/Strip)

Vonetta is a 35 year old woman who came to see us about a large area of hair loss down the center of her scalp. This occurred as a result of a childhood injury that not only caused hair loss but also very noticeable white scarring due to unsuccessful surgery. This had effected her self esteem her entire life and she always felt self-conscious despite wearing a wig.
She was unable to afford any hair restoration procedures. The International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery has a program called “Operation Restore” for patients like Vonetta, who need surgery to correct hair loss due to trauma but are unable to afford it. Because I am a participating volunteer surgeon for this program, I agreed to perform all her procedures at no charge under this program for needy patients.
Hair transplantation alone would not have completely corrected the problem because of the underlying white scar tissue. Therefore I performed two scalp reduction procedures (4/21/07 and 5/18/07) to remove the scar tissue. This was quite successful and the area was now ready for transplantation.
On 8/14/07 and 2/27/08, she underwent two 1,500 graft sessions of follicular unit transplantation, totaling approximately 3,000 grafts. Generally grafts grow surprisingly well in scars, as long as careful surgical techniques are followed, allowing adequate blood supply to each graft. Although, the final photos were taken only six months out from the second procedure, the improvement is evident. One can also see the change in her self-image by the expression on her face. The positive effect on her self esteem has been very gratifying for all of the members of my team to see. She no longer wears a wig and is much more outgoing. The ISHRS encourages patients who think they may qualify to apply directly to them. If accepted, they will be matched with a participating volunteer physician.