Saudi men spend some SR720 million every year on hair transplants, with 5 out of every ten people in the Kingdom undergoing hair transplantation operations at some point in their lives. Quoting Dr. Muhammed Abu Shwarib, an expert in hair transplantation from Banan Medical Center in Riyadh, Al-Hayat Arabic daily reports that young Saudis regularly visit Dr. Shwarib's clinic for, in addition to the more traditional replacement of head hair, transplants to their chests and eyebrows. Others seek hair for the moustache and beard. Hair transplants can be done quickly with few side effects. Areas that have undergone transplantation may need to be bandaged overnight, but the individual can expect to return to normal activities within a day, Al-Hayat said. Strenuous activities are to be avoided during the first few days after the surgery, as on rare occasions implants can be ejected from the scalp. Some welling, bruising, headaches and discomfort around the graft areas may occur but cause nothing more than mild pain, while scabs and numbness can also cause discomfort. A complete graft of the scalp to treat those afflicted by complete baldness is a different matter. Plastic surgeon Dr. Fahd Assi says that a completely bald man requires 5,000 grafts of two hairs each time to achieve satisfactory coverage, with each session costing between SR3,000 and SR18,000. The rate of baldness in the Kingdom is higher than in Europe, Assi says, something which he attributes to the popularity of headwear such as baseball caps and the traditional Arab headdress, as well as the type of water used in washing. Studies carried out in the Kingdom show that 50 percent of Saudi males and 5 percent of Saudi females are afflicted with bald patches, and most people seeking hair transplantation are under 40 years old. Dr. Shwarib says prices vary from one clinic to another, but on an average the cost of each individual hair is around SR10. There are some 60 specialist hair transplantation centers in the Kingdom. Dr. Shwarib expects demand for their services to increase by around 5 percent a year. __
