Eyebrows give a person’s face a look of balance. Some people who have lost eyebrow hair have tried drawing color in with eyebrow pencil or tattooing eyebrows in place but the look is never quite as satisfactory or natural as actual hair. Eyebrow transplantation surgery has developed finer techniques over the years. This allows the insertion and placement of each hair follicle implanted a better chance of survival as well as the ability to position the transplanted eyebrow hair in the proper direction of growth.
Candidates for eyebrow transplantation:
● People who have suffered a trauma, i.e. burns or an accident to their eyebrows.
● People with a medical problem that caused loss of their eyebrows, i.e. alopecia areata or thyroid disease.
● People who have compulsively pulled out their eyebrow hair, i.e. trichotillomania or have excessively plucked them so they no longer grow back.
● People who have had medical or surgical treatments, i.e. chemotherapy or radiation and their eyebrow hair will not grow back.
● People without an actual loss of eyebrow hair but want the area enhanced.
There are basically two techniques used for eyebrow transplantation: moving a strip of hair from another location to the eyebrow or transplantation of individual single hairs from a donor site. Donor hair is taken from an area that has fine versus coarse hair which closer in texture to eyebrow hair.
In women this is usually from the area over the ear. In men the hair used can be a little coarser from the back of the head close to the neck. Even if strip transplantation is used, some micrografts of single hairs will be placed along the incision lines for a more natural look.
The transplanted hair must come from the person themselves to avoid rejection of the hair follicle tissue. Less commonly used is a procedure where a flap is brought over from the temple that remains connected to its own blood supply. Regardless of technique used, it may be necessary to have more than one session several months apart to achieve the final look.
Eyebrow transplantation surgery only takes a couple of hours to complete. An outline of the desired eyebrow shape is drawn with a surgical marker. Anesthetic is injected to block nerves close by the eyebrow and a local anesthetic is injected into the eyebrow tissue. No dressing will be applied afterwards but antibiotic ointment will need to be applied several times a day for the first week. This softens crusting that occurs around the hair and allows it be washed away. Bruising is a common side effect and may resolve in a week or more.
Eyebrow transplantation surgery should only be performed by the most qualified doctor you can find with specific experience in eyebrow hair transplantation. Do not just go to a general hair transplant clinic. To find an eyebrow hair transplant surgeon, go to International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons at www.iahrs.org or contact The American Hair loss Association at http://americanhairloss.org .
sources:
www.bernsteinmedical.com/resources/publications/eyebrow-transplants-from-scalp-to-brow/
www.ishrs.org/surgical/surgical-eyebrow-eyelash.htm
http://blog.americanhairloss.org/hair-loss/eyebrow-transplant/
Michele is an R.N. freelance writer with a special interest in woman’s healthcare and quality of care issues. Other articles by Michele can be read at www.helium.com/users/487540/show_articles