Eyelash Transplants
Posted on 12. Aug, 2009 by CSG in Cosmetic Imperfections, Surgical Procedures
After centuries of wishing for longer lashes and eventually reconciling themselves to the use of artificial eyelashes and mascara, the women of the world have finally found a way to have longer, fuller lashes naturally. As Transform Cosmetic Surgery reported this week, women have discovered the wonders of eyelash transplants!
Eyelash transplants have been a part of the world of cosmetic surgery for well over twenty five years now. Until recently, however, the only candidates for the procedure were people who had been involved in terrible accidents, undergone some form of trauma or patients who suffered from trichotillomania, a disease which causes people to constantly pull out their hair.
Recently, plastic surgeons have reported a different trend with regards to the procedure. An increasing number of people, more specifically women, who pay close to four thousand dollars to undergo the procedure are perfectly healthy and look at eyelash transplants as being cosmetic rather than reconstructive surgery.
How Eyelash Transplants work – During the procedure
Eyelash Transplants require only local anaesthesia and take anywhere between an hour to an hour and a half to be done.
The procedure involves the use of hair follicles from the back of the patients scalp. This part of the scalp, for the purpose of the transplant, is referred to as the donor area. The hair follicles obtained from the donor area are then implanted into the patients’ eyelids. Cosmetic surgeons take care to use only absorbable stitches to seal off the donor area. This is to ensure that there are no visible signs of the procedure during or after surgery.
Most eyelash transplants see patients implanted with close to forty new eyelashes on each eyelid.
How Eyelash Transplants work – Post Procedure
Once implanted into an eyelid, the new eyelashes acclimatise to their new environment and begin to grow. Because of their point of origin, these eyelashes need to be trimmed and maintained just as they would have been, without the transplant. Patients with straight hair often find that they need to perm their eyelashes after the transplant, to keep their eyelashes curled as opposed to straight.
Eyelash Transplants – Recovery Time
Upon completion of the procedure, patients can expect to experience some mild discomfort over the course of the next few hours. Mild bruising in the donor and implant area is also a possibility. However, most surgeons highly recommended that eye make-up is kept to a minimum over the course of the week following the procedure. Based on the patients’ vision of how dense they would like their eyelashes to be, an additional eyelash transplant session with their cosmetic surgeon could be on the cards.
Eyelash Transplants are completely safe and easy to do, when done with a cosmetic surgeon that you know and trust with your eyes, and by default, your sight.
Deciding to go in for this delicate procedure with a surgeon whose credentials you are not fully aware of, or one that gives you cause for concern is not a good idea at all. Industry experts warn women thinking of undergoing eyelash transplants of some of the pitfalls, which include the fact that eyelash transplants could lead to ulcers and, in some cases, blindness.
