When the balding area is quite large, you might need 5,000 hair grafts or more for your transplantation surgery. In fact, sometimes, patients specifically request a large number of grafts because they believe it will get them better coverage and density.
However, for such hair transplants, you’ll usually be recommended two separate sessions by most transplant surgeons. That’s because harvesting and implanting this many grafts in one go can not only damage your scalp but also give poor results.
That, of course, doesn’t mean that you can’t get 5,000 hair grafts. Only you’ll have to wait a little longer to see the results. In such cases, generally, the surgeons transplant the front of the scalp first before moving backwards to the bald spot on the crown.
In this guide, you’ll learn more about the details of a 5000 grafts hair transplant and the potential complications you may experience when it’s just done in one session. Additionally, you’ll have an estimate of the costs involved.
What Are The Results Of 5000 Hair Grafts?
Hair transplants for 5000 grafts will cover your scalp’s front, temples, top, crown, and it will also go slightly further down the back. Usually, such patients are categorised as a 7 on the Norwood scale, which is the most extensive degree of hair loss in pattern baldness.
If this is the case with you as well, you may be recommended anywhere between 4,000 to 5,500 grafts or even more to cover all the hair loss zones from 1 to 7 (below crown).
However, one thing you need to keep in mind here is that 5,000 grafts hair transplant is only possible if you have these many grafts in your donor area. Although even in that case, it’s not safe to transplant them all in one session.
Donor area refers to the hair at the back and sides of the scalp. Since it’s unaffected by the dihydrotestosterone (DHT) hormone that causes pattern baldness, it’s extracted and implanted into the bald spots for permanent results.
Problem is, if your balding area is already quite large, you might not have enough donor hair for this surgery to take place. And the number of grafts is limited (after one’s extracted, a new one won’t replace it).
If you don’t have enough grafts but still want the surgery for extensive baldness, you should expect poor coverage and density in the hair transplant with 5,000 grafts result. Or you might only get coverage in one area.
Moreover, inexperienced surgeons may also end up overharvesting the donor area to try to meet your needs and expectations. But if that happens, you won’t be able to get a second procedure.
What Does 5000 Hair Grafts Look Like?
On average, 5,000 hair grafts are equivalent to 10,000 hairs. It’s important to note that “hair grafts” and “hairs” don’t mean the same thing. Each graft can have anywhere from 1-4 hairs (2, on average).
Therefore, if the surgeon is able to safely extract 5,000+ grafts from your scalp in 2 sessions and implant them with an interval of 6-12 months between the surgeries, you can get excellent coverage from the hairline to the crown.
Note that in the first surgery, a maximum of 4,500 grafts will be extracted and implanted the same day, and in the second surgery, the remaining grafts will also be extracted and implanted on the same day.
Are 5000 Grafts Good For Hair Transplant?
5,000 hair grafts can effectively achieve a good coverage and density, but it depends on your extent of baldness and even hair type.
However, more often than not, surgeons recommend overall 2 hair transplant sessions. And that’s because:
- The surgeon wants to avoid permanently damaging your donor area.
- The surgery will be too long, and if extreme precautions are not taken, it will affect the survival rate of the grafts (for being outside of the body for too long).
- If too many incisions are made in the bald spots and implants densely packed, it can affect blood circulation, causing death of grafts and even skin necrosis.
- If too many grafts are extracted, it increases the risk of an overharvested donor area with permanent bald patches. It will make another surgery impossible.
Some clinics offer “mega sessions” of hair transplant where as many as 8,000 grafts are implanted into the bald spots in a span of 2 days. These also have a lot of drawbacks because they can damage both the donor and recipient areas.
Keep in mind that if you need a large number of grafts, it’s better to have separate surgeries than risk it all for just one giant transplant session.
At the maximum, your surgeon might consider transplanting 4,500 grafts in your balding areas in one treatment session. The rest you’ll need to wait 6-12 months for. It’s considered much safer.
Some surgeons, instead, opt for a combination of FUT and FUE hair transplant to harvest 5,000 grafts in a single session. While it can work, keep in mind that FUT can leave a linear scar on the back.
Are 5000 Hair Grafts A Lot?
It’s very unusual for patients to get a hair transplant with 5,000 grafts in one day.
According to the 2022 practice census of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS), most commonly, patients had 2,000 hair grafts in one procedure. And they had 2,999 more in a second treatment.
In contrast, only 1% of people were those who had 4,000 or more hair grafts in one session, and even fewer had more in a second session.
One reason that might be the case is that many people have a surgery before they even need 5,000 or more grafts.
Another explanation for this small percentage might be that not a lot of people may have a healthy or dense enough donor area to yield 5,000 grafts. Therefore, not a lot of people are able to have this surgery.
How Much Does 5000 Hair Grafts Cost?
A 5,000 hair grafts transplant surgery is, of course, going to be more expensive, but it’s not just because of the number of grafts involved.
While that’s a significant factor that affects the price of the overall treatment plan, it can also come down to the techniques involved, the complexity and duration of the surgery, and the experience of the surgeon.
This is whether you’re getting one or two procedures. In the case of the latter, however, you’ll have to pay for the anaesthesia, operation theatre, surgery, medications, etc., twice.
At Longevita, this is offset by the fact that we don’t charge by the number of grafts, so your surgery will remain quite affordable, especially compared to the UK.
Another thing that you should know is that if you book 2 hair transplant sessions, you’ll also be eligible for a discount for the second surgery.
5000 Grafts Hair Transplant Cost UK
Because 1 hair graft in the UK can cost £3, on average, 5,000 grafts hair transplant cost in the UK can be around £15,000 and more.
And this might not include the cost of the medications, consultation and aftercare, which can cost you a few hundred pounds more.
Also, depending on the area where the clinic is located, prices may further fluctuate quite significantly.
5000 Grafts Hair Transplant Cost Turkey
In Turkey, 1 hair graft can cost anywhere from £0.80 to £1, so the cost of 5000 hair grafts will come to £4,000 or £5,000. This usually includes the cost of the anaesthesia, surgery, medications, hotel, transfers, and aftercare.
Because of Turkey’s proximity to the UK, flight tickets can actually be quite cheap (even £200 for a round trip). So, even after including the flight tickets for both the trips, hair transplant in Turkey for 5000 grafts will cost you much less.
But you can save even more on the 5,000 graft hair transplant cost by choosing a clinic that doesn’t charge by the number of grafts.
Longevita offers treatment plans with maximum grafts to its patients, so no matter how many of them you want, the price will remain the same.
For one traditional FUE, our hair transplant cost in Turkey is £1,650 (including all essentials and amenities).
But to ensure patient safety, no more than 4,500 grafts are implanted in 1 session. So, you’ll have to come twice, but the total cost would come to around £3,000. Keep in mind that you’ll get a discount for the second session.
Conclusion
Getting 5,000 grafts for a hair transplant means that you should be mentally prepared for two sessions of this surgery. It’s normally recommended to make sure that the patient’s donor area is not exhausted, depleted and damaged. Also, it allows for better survival of the implanted grafts.
Looking at the photos in this should have given you an idea of how much there are 5,000 hair grafts. Just remember that grafts are not the same as hairs. The latter’s always more. Some clinics might actually quote you the number of hairs to inflate the cost, so be careful about that as well.
Still, for a 5,000 graft hair transplant, your expenses will be slightly more. Although by choosing a company which offers the maximum number of grafts, you can save significantly on the hair transplant cost of 5,000 grafts.
While you can use a graft calculator to estimate how many grafts you need, you should consider getting in touch with a qualified medical professional for a more accurate treatment plan.
Reviewed and Approved by Dr. Cagla Yuksel.
