Regenerative therapy is increasingly being recognized for its potential role in the treatment of a variety of types of hair loss. Affecting 50% of men population and 45% of women all around the world, loss and thinning of the hair are two of the most common signs of ageing. Thinning hair, receding hairline, and exceeding hair loss can leave you feeling self-conscious. Finding new therapies for male and female pattern hair loss treatment remains of great interest. The autologous fat grafting technique is a new method that has received a lot of attention from experts in the industry regarding its application for the treatment of hair loss over the past 12 to 14 years.

Thanks to advanced technology, you can now use your own fat, enriched with stem cells, to treat problematic areas of your body. Interestingly, fat transfer or fat grafting helps you fight baldness, too. Dr Rozina Ali, one of the best female plastic surgeons in London, has long held that “Fat is the future" and has been using concentrated, purified fat to practice rejuvenation for over a decade. In this article, Dr Ali shares with us her knowledge about body fat transfer procedures and the benefits of fat grafting hair restoration.

Hair restoration procedure

As Miss Rozina Ali has discussed in her previous articles, the use of purified fat tissue in both basic research and a clinical trial has significantly increased during the last decade due to a variety of newly suggested therapeutic indications, including treatment of facial ageing, chronic wound healing, improvement of the radiation damage and hypertrophic scars, breast augmentation or breast reconstruction. Recent publications suggest a regenerative action on hair follicles.

There are a thousand times more stem cells and growth factors in fat than in plasma, therefore a surgeon can use these regenerative cells to repair and stimulate renewed tissue in the scalp. The groundbreaking Kerastem Cell Therapy involves 3 main stages:

removing the fat – small cuts are made in the skin and a thin tube is used to suck out small amounts of fat (similar to liposuction); the cuts are then closed with stitches
preparing the fat – special equipment is used to separate the fat collected from any blood and other fluids
injecting the fat – small amounts of fat are injected into the area being treated with no need for stitches

Benefits of fat transfer to the scalp

Long-lasting results

Fat grafting, in general, gives long-lasting results, but especially in the case of autologous transfer to the scalp. The less movement in the scalp area ensures that the fat survives even after several years. Keep in mind that each plastic procedures are highly customized and it may vary from one patient to another both with respect to choosing the technology to perform the surgery and achieving the outcomes to meet the desired aesthetic goal.

Minimally invasive

One major advantage of fat transfer is a 100% outpatient procedure that uses only your own fat removed with gentle liposuction to inject into the desired area in an almost scarless fashion. The procedure is essentially done only with needles so only tiny incisions for the needles are required.

The complication rate of fat grafting is extremely low. The only drawback of fat transfer is that only a limited amount of fat can be grafted into the recipient tissues at any given time, and there is some variability as to the final amount that survives the grafting process.

Getting two procedures in one

Fat transfer for hair loss liposuction offers all the advantages of traditional liposuction without the drawbacks. As a more quick and convenient option, surgeons remove the fat via ‘soft liposuction’. It’s ideal for treating small amounts of excess fat on areas like the ankles, arms, stomach, and the inside of the thighs or chin.

Rozina Ali is an experienced fat transfer practitioner, performing various procedures in this field, from fat transfer to breasts, to face, body and scalp, and is one of the very few plastic surgeons performing Kerastem Hair Therapy in London.

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