We are grateful that you are considering the Farjo Hair Institute and Dr Greg Williams to carry out your hair transplant surgery. The Farjo Hair Institute was first established in 1993, and Dr Williams joined as our Lead London Surgeon in 2012. Dr Williams operates from both our Manchester and London clinicsalthough you may be required to have your surgery with him in Manchester depending on your needs.
Please find below some information that we feel is important for you to be aware of prior to your initial consultation at the Farjo Hair Institute. You can also find all this information and more on our website – www.farjo.com
FUE & Strip FUT Surgery
We offer two methods of donor hair harvesting – Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) and Strip Follicular Unit Transplantation (Strip FUT). We are commonly asked which one is the best or the more modern technique. During your initial consultation, Dr Williams will assess your hair loss to date and discuss the result you would like to achieve with us. From here, Dr Williams will discuss which harvesting methodmight suit you.
The difference between the harvesting methods is in how the grafts are removed from your donor area. This will affect how the scarring from the transplant will display, the amount of shaving that will be necessary on the day of your surgery, and how the donor area density will be affected.
With the FUE method, it is important to maintain enough density in your donor area so that it does not look overharvested or thinned out. At the Farjo Hair Institute we have a conservative approach to ensure that both your transplant result and your donor area look completely natural.
Results Timeline
The results from your hair transplant surgery can be a patient wait, as it can take between 12-18 months for the full outcome of your hair transplant surgery to be seen. We offer your initial follow up appointment post-surgery at a minimum of 8 months. At this review, we will discuss your results so farbut the final result will be assessed at 16 months post-op.
We will take photographs before and after your surgery so that we can objectively assess the results. Often patients forget what they looked like before once the new hair starts to grow. If there are any concerns you have before your 8-month review, always feel free to reach out to the clinic or Dr Williams directly.
Shock Loss
Shock loss might not be something that you have heard of but you need to be aware of the possibility before your surgery. Shock loss is the temporary shedding of non-transplanted hair after the surgery.
Shock loss can by minor or significant, patchy or diffuse. Significant patchy loss is very rare but if it occurs, Dr Williams will you support you until it starts to recover which can take 3-4 months, and further time for the hair to grow long again.
Density Limitations
During your initial consultation with Dr Williams, he will discuss the result you are aiming to achieve with us. While we will work with you to achieve this result, sometimes expectations can be too high for what is possible. When trying to achieve maximal hair density per procedure, we can add approximately 30% of your original hair density into the areas where you have seen hair loss, Thus is due to the technical limitations in how closely the recipient site incisions can be made and the expected survival rate of transplanted hairs. Bear in mind however that you need to lose about 50% of your hair before you start to notice it thinning.
The earlier in your hair loss journey that you can stabilize your hair loss with medications and non-surgical treatments, the more likely we can achieve the density of hair you want.
Please see the link below for more information from the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgeons (ISHRS) on the differences in graft harvesting techniques and the medications available to help stabilize your hair loss.
https://ishrs.org/patients/treatments-for-hair-loss/surgical-treatments/
https://ishrs.org/patients/treatments-for-hair-loss/medications/