For years, women have done everything they could think of to make their eyelashes look fuller and longer. Other people, due to medical problems or injury have lost their eyelashes entirely. Since the eyelashes provide an important protection for the eye against dust and debris in the air, this can be a problem.
The eyelash transplant procedure was first developed in the 1970s to help people with these problems. However, it had several difficulties, and never gained popularity. In recent years, an improved version of the eyelash transplant procedure was developed, without the problems of older procedures.
Much like hair transplants, eyelash transplant procedures take hair follicles from another part of the body – usually the back of the head, but sometimes the eyebrows or side burns – and implant them in the eyelids.
The procedure usually takes around four hours for both eyes.
Eyelash transplant procedures are permanent, because the follicles implanted in the eyelid will continue to grow new hair over time. In fact, one of the minor complications of the eyelash transplant procedure is that because the hair follicles usually come from the back of the head, the new eyelashes will need to be trimmed just like ordinary head hair.
There are very few doctors who currently perform eyelash transplant procedures, and they are sufficiently different from hair transplants that it is best to find a surgeon who has performed eyelash transplants already or been trained in them by a surgeon who has.
The most common risk of eyelash transplant procedure is infection. Other risks can include damage to the eye lid, though there is no record of such damage ever occurring with a surgeon who has been trained in the anatomy of the eyelid.
While the eyelash transplant procedure was originally developed for people has lost their eyelashes due to burns or accidents, it is becoming increasingly popular as a cosmetic surgery, and will probably increase in frequency in the years to come.
