The Old Plug Surgery Method

Plug Surgery

The surgery was performed in a minimum of 2 sessions, at 4 monthly intervals. Placing the plugs too close together could result with the plugs competing for blood supply, resulting in plug failure. The Doctor would leave spaces between the plugs at the first session, and then ‘in-fill’ the spaces at the 2nd session. The plugs would then secure their own blood supply independently of, and without risk to the previously transplanted plugs.

The resulting growth often resembled ‘dolls hair’, or ‘corn row’ effect. Combing the hair back off the face would only accentuate the ‘dolls hair’ appearance of the surgery. Whenever front-line surgery was recommended prospective patients were advised that in order to achieve a more ‘natural look’, they would need to style the hair forward, or across the front of the head. Another negative aspect of plug surgery was the method of removing ‘donor hair’. It was drilled out with an electric drill. This method, not only caused considerable trauma and prolonged swelling to the scalp, it greatly limited further harvesting, (removal of donor hair). Each time the Surgeon removed a plug from the donor area, he would leave an equivalent amount of untouched hair between each plug to disguise the missing hair. Over-harvesting of that could leave visible hair loss and scarring behind.

Famous Plug Surgery Failures

If I could have had a single hair transplanted every time I was asked why Hair Transplant Surgery wasn’t successful for Elton John, the famous singer/songwriter or Russ Abbott, the well known comedian, I wouldn’t have needed Hair Transplant Surgery myself. So let me put the record straight.

Many of us will remember Elton John on Top of the Pops during the early 70’s. His hair density was so thin you could clearly see through to his scalp at the back and the sides of his head. Most men have much thicker hair density at the back and the sides of their heads than they need to achieve normal hair cover.

Therefore, if a man’s donor hair density is sparse, and the distance between the roots is so wide that you can see through to their scalp, it stands to reason that by removing further volume from an already sparse donor area:

• can only cause increased scarcity of hair in the donor areas, leaving bald patches behind,
• produce such sparse re-rowth, that the results would look unnatural.

In short, ‘you reap what you sow.’

Which is why the pop star now wears hairpiece systems which are bonded to his scalp with an adhesive and can’t be removed, except by the suppliers. According to media, the hairpiece systems are reputed to cost the superstar £12,500 and need replacing at six monthly intervals.

The well known comedian, after seeing the results of his 1st procedure opted out of having further surgery and had the plugs surgically removed.