Hair Restoration Options in Tampa Bay | St. Petersburg Hair Transplant

About Hair Restoration

Patients may desire new hair after stress, age, poor nutrition, or genetics has created a receding hair line. A receding hair line can make you appear older than you are, or, expose your scalp to the Florida sun. For patients desiring a thicker head of hair, they may opt for Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) or Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) hair transplant. Dr. John O’Brien works with the Orlando Hair Restoration Group to perform hair transplant procedures. 

Who Is a Candidate for Hair Restoration?

Both men and women may opt for a hair restoration procedure. Patients should be in good general health for surgery. Candidates can visit the office for a consultation; Dr. O’Brien can assess patients’ hairlines and see if hair restoration may work for them.

How Does Hair Restoration Work?

All of our hair restoration procedures are done on an outpatient basis at our St. Petersburg, Florida plastic surgery center. Dr. John O'Brien takes hair follicles from areas with thicker hair and transplants these follicles to balding areas. Both FUE and FUT transplant procedures transplant follicles for a fuller looking head of hair.

FUE Transplant

During FUE transplant, hair follicles are dissected individually from fuller areas on the scalp; areas are chosen according to the appearance of more productive hair follicles. Once follicles are dissected, they are transplanted into the new hairline. 

FUT Transplant

A Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) procedure uses a donor strip as opposed to individual follicle dissection. Hair follicles are removed in naturally occurring groups of 1 to 4 hairs, called follicular units. Follicular units also contain sebaceous (oil) glands, nerves, and occasional fine vellus hairs. During FUT, the small units allow Dr. O’Brien the ability to to safely transplant thousands of grafts in a single session, which maximizes the cosmetic impact of the procedure. FUT has a larger scar as opposed to smaller individual incisions made during a FUE procedure.

Recovery After Hair Transplant

Recovery after hair transplant varies according to each procedure; the amount of transplanted hair follicles and the method of transplant will affect recovery. Patients may notice soreness or swelling around the dissection or donor sites. These areas will take some time to heal. After healing, and once the new follicles produce hair, patients can enjoy their new appearance.