Around 20 individuals who are survivors of burn injuries or acid attacks underwent free hair transplants as part of a workshop conducted by Stanley Medical College and Hospital, Chennai to teach other doctors.

Each year, hundreds of people suffer a burns injury or acid attack resulting in severe injuries to skin tissue. While several survivors are able to receive skin graft and other cosmetic procedures to help them gain back a sense of normalcy, several lose hairlines in the incidents, which result in no growth of hair in affected areas.

Chennai’s Stanley Medical College and Hospital recently conducted a three-day workshop, to equip doctors in the state of Tamil Nadu from various government hospitals with the skills and means to be able to undertake such hair transplants. The hospital is also set to begin undertaking hair transplant surgeries for burns survivors, free of cost.

“Government hospitals usually end up being filled with tons of patients with acute burns,” says Pragya Singh of the Bengaluru-based Atijeevan Foundation which aids victims of acid attacks throughout India. With the help of Dr Vivek Kumar Saxena, a Lucknow-based plastic surgeon, the organisation has been able to help raise money for victims to be able to afford to undergo reconstructive surgeries. The foundation has played a significant role in getting the doctor to be a part of the training workshop held at Stanley.

“Post these incidents, several of the patients lose hairlines and eyebrows and there is no hair growth seen in these areas. For many of them, hair transplant is not a luxury, it’s a chance to be able to gain a sense of normalcy and become themselves.”

The Atijeevan Foundation was started five years back with the intention of helping women who could not afford reconstructive surgeries, “We raise funds for the surgeries of the patients. A mere eyebrow transplant costs 1 lakh rupees at least in most private hospitals. Several of these women cannot afford these surgeries in a private healthcare setup,” explains Pragya.

Twenty plastic surgeons from the Institute for Research and Rehabilitation of Hand and Department of Plastic Surgery, will be undergoing training to be equipped with the skills required to perform this procedure via a three-day workshop under the guidance of Dr V Ramadevi, the Head of the Department.

“Doctors from MMC (Madras Medical College)  and Kilpauk Medical college have enrolled in the camp and workshop. Several doctors from other parts of the state will also be taking part so they too will be able to conduct these surgeries at free of cost in their respective cities and towns,” adds Pragya.

Dr Vivek Saxena will be teaching the doctors the techniques to perform such surgeries at a live workshop to be held as part of the event. During the training event around 20 people who have suffered such injuries will undergo hair transplantation.

“The three-day workshop's aim was to train plastic surgeons here on hairline reconstruction and transplantation techniques. I was invited to train the doctors on these things. Pragya had identified a few victims requiring the surgery and these patients were brought to the hospital.

I conducted a surgery which was being streamed live in another hall where around 100 doctors were watching,” says Vivek to TNM. “In this manner I could demonstrate to them how to go about the hair transplant procedure. It was a two-way communication, so they were able to interact with me throughout the procedure.” He further added that by training several doctors in the state, victims requiring this procedure need not travel far for it, like several were doing earlier.

This story was originally published on The News Minute and is reprinted here with permission. It can be viewed on https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/chennai-stanley-medical-college-conduct-free-hair-transplants-burn-survivors-93032