Are Megasessions Really The Best Way To Have a Hair Transplant?

Written by Blaine Lehr, MD on May 27, 2008

I’ve been reading a lot about megasessions online, and I am wondering if this is really the best way to have a hair transplant and is it safe? - Sean
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I would define a megasession as a transplant of 2000 or more follicular units. I think most hair transplant surgeons would agree that such a session is perfectly safe as long as you are dealing with an experienced clinic. I would consider the following as potential risks if you have a megasession with an inexperienced clinic. First, it is possible that if the grafts are out of the body and not inserted in a reasonable amount of time, you could experience less growth. Second, if the surgeon attempts to obtain large number of grafts by excising too wide of a strip, you would be at increased risk for a wide scar in the donor area. Third, when larger numbers of grafts are transplanted, there is sometimes a tendency to create too low of a hairline or to fill in the vertex. While working in these areas is not always a problem, it is important to remember that male pattern balding does tend to be progressive over a man’s lifetime. If the transplant is not designed correctly, it is pssible for a low hairline or a transplanted vertex to come back and haunt the patient if he becomes significantly more bald. Fortunately, these problems are greatly minimized with a little homework.

The question of whether this is the best way to have a hair transplant is more difficult. Certainly it allows the patient to reach his goals in a shorter period of time. Some megasessions are even reaching the 4000 graft mark so that men with advanced balding can hope to cover large areas of their balding scalp. On the other hand, there are some advantages to smaller sessions. If for some reason you had less than optimal growth after a smaller session (and remember, while hair transplants consistently grow well, there is no absolute guarantee that you might not experience poor growth no matter what clinic you go to or how many grafts are placed), you would have the opportunity to switch clinics before too much of your donor hair is used. Another advantage is that, on occasion, I find that men are completely satisfied with a much smaller number of grafts than I would have expected which means they save themselves a lot of money. I hope that helps answer your question.

Sincerely,
Blaine Lehr, M.D.
Member, International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons
Member, American Hair Loss Association

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