What is a hair transplant?

A hair transplant is an outpatient surgery that redistributes your own follicles from a donor area —usually the back and sides of the head, genetically resistant to loss— into balding areas. It does not create new hair: it rearranges what you already have, which is why the quality and density of the donor area set the realistic limit of the result.

Three techniques dominate. FUE extracts follicular units one by one with a micromotor and implants them into pre-opened channels; it is the most widespread and allows large sessions. DHI implants the follicle directly with a Choi pen without opening a channel first, giving great control over angle and density in small areas such as the frontal line or eyebrows, but it is slower and usually capped around 2,000-3,000 grafts. Sapphire-blade FUE uses crystal blades to open finer channels, with less trauma and fewer scabs. None is objectively "the best": the choice depends on the area to cover, hair thickness and the surgeon's judgement.

Who is a good candidate? People with stabilised loss (androgenetic pattern), a sufficient donor area and realistic expectations. In very advanced loss it may be wiser to prioritise the frontal half rather than trying to cover the whole crown. In active alopecia areata, flaring scarring alopecia or untreated shedding, grafting is not the first step: the cause is treated first. A good centre will tell you "no" or "not yet" when that is the honest answer.

The full procedure takes 6 to 8 hours under local anaesthesia. The first wash is done the next day, scabs fall between day 3 and 10, and around week three shock loss occurs: the transplanted hair sheds and the follicle goes dormant. Visible growth starts at month three or four, the result is judged at 12 months and final density at 18. Any clinic promising a definitive result in three months is selling hype.

On price, Turkey is the benchmark market (€1,500-4,500 including stay and transfers), India and Poland sit at similar or slightly lower ranges, Spain runs €4,000-8,000 with the advantage of proximity for follow-ups, and Germany or South Korea often exceed €9,000. Be wary of packages under €1,200: they usually mean technicians without real medical supervision, inflated graft counts on paper and no aftercare.

Signs of a serious clinic: valid accreditation (ISO 9001, local ministry licence, JCI in hospitals), an identifiable surgeon with a licence number, a prior consultation with trichoscopic analysis, an estimated graft count in writing, informed consent in your language, an anaesthesia protocol and scheduled reviews at months 1, 6 and 12. Risks they must explain: folliculitis, temporary numbness, dot scarring, irregular results from poor angulation, and the need for a second session in 15-25 % of cases.

At medviajes we compare accredited clinics, verify who actually operates, request a fixed per-graft quote and organise the whole trip with hotel, transfers and follow-ups. The final indication must always be confirmed by a qualified doctor after examining you.