Scalp reduction surgery is a popular baldness solution procedure

Bald scalp and/or flaking scalp often make one conscious of him/her. Scalp reduction surgery is a cosmetic procedure to counter those scalp problems. As a baldness solution this is often done in conjunction with hair transplants. It involves surgically removing a portion of the balding area, which causes the bald spot to be smaller. This means that there are fewer areas to graft to the head during a hair transplant.

A scalp reduction plastic surgery is also commonly done at the same time as a scalp flap operation. A scalp flap operation involves the transfer of a large portion of hair and scalp from the area behind the temples to the forward, balding part of the head. This in effect creates a new hairline. When both of these procedures are done at once it can significantly reduce the number of treatments required to accomplish a full head of hair.

Scalp reduction surgery is not effective on every type of balding. It mainly works on individuals who suffer from male pattern balding. This is the type of balding where you see a “crop circle” type of balding spot at the top of the person’s head. As women don’t often suffer from male pattern balding, but instead tend to bald in patches, they do not often make good candidates for scalp reduction surgery.

Scalp reduction surgery is an effective baldness solution for treating anyone who has male pattern balding due to hormones and genetics, but not from medications, stress, severe illness, malnourishment, and infections. There are very few individuals who would not qualify as a good candidate for a scalp reduction however the procedure may not be for you if you have a serious disease, are going chemotherapy or any other process that could cause your hair to temporarily fall out. Individuals with AIDS or an autoimmune disorder are also not good candidates for a hair transplant as there is an increased danger of infection. Provided you are healthy and as long as the focal area of balding to be treated is at the front or on top of the head you are a good candidate for scalp reduction.

Before having this procedure you will have an intensive initial consultation with your plastic surgeon. He will ask you about your general health and conduct laboratory tests as needed. The doctor might also take a biopsy of both healthy and balding areas of your scalp to see what type of anatomy and hair he is dealing with. Individual hairs might also be plucked and examined under a microscope to determine whether or not you are a suitable candidate for this operation.

The scalp is injected with local anesthetic and the part of the scalp that does not grow hair is cut out. The skin is then stretched to shrink the bald spot and sutured.

Often this operation is done in conjunction with hair grafting procedures. After the scalp is stretched and excess skin removed to make the bald patch smaller the doctor small groups of hairs, or individual hairs removed from the donor patch of scalp. The area to receive the donated hairs is then also numbed with a cleaned and numbed with a topical anesthetic. Miniscule holes are made with needles in the bald area and healthy hairs are delicately transplanted into the orifices. During a single treatment session which can last anywhere from one to four hours, thousands of hairs may be transplanted to the scalp.

A surgical dressing that can be concealed by a cap or hat may be worn for a day or two after the scalp reduction. You can also expect your doctor to prescribe antibiotics to prevent any infection from occurring and anti-inflammatories and painkillers to deal with any physical discomfort.

If you have a scalp reduction you can expect to be in some pain for a few days. It is also common for the scalp to feel too tight for the head for a few months.

Keep in mind that although the scalp reduction surgery itself only has to be done once, you may have to return several times to keep having hair transplants. It is also important to have reasonable expectations of the operation as it can take as long as six months for the hair transplants to grow and the ultimate positive aesthetic effect of the scalp reduction procedure to be obvious.