The life of a Namibian in his late 30s was changed when he became the country's first hair transplant patient last week.
The Aesthetics Centre Olympia (ACO), which is part of the Emoneko Group, successfully completed the procedure in Windhoek on 26 September.
The Namibian could not reach the patient yesterday, however, Emoneko chief executive Birgit Hoffman says the surgery marks the first step towards offering world-class medical treatments within Namibia, eliminating the need for patients to seek costly care abroad.
She says the procedure was led by a team of Namibian medical professionals, including Drs Natasha Slabbert and La-Toya Mwoombola-Hamutenya, as well as aesthetician Esmarie Smit.
The team was trained by Indian hair transplant surgeon Dr Pradip Atodaria.
Registered nurses Jacobina Nampala and Armas Shifotoka were also part of the team.
Hoffman says the team performed the advanced follicular unit extraction technique, which involves the precise extraction and implantation of individual hair follicles, ensuring natural-looking results with minimal scarring.
'Monumental achievement'
"This is a monumental achievement for Namibia. By performing hair transplants locally, we are not only building medical expertise within the country, but also offering life-changing treatments that address a key issue affecting many people's confidence and emotional well-being.
"The successful first surgery involved the transplantation of 1 200 hair grafts ... Further transplants followed in the following days, with up to 3 000 grafts being performed on a patient over three consecutive days," she says.
Dr Jonathan Joffe, the owner of Olympia Eye Laser Centre, where the surgeries took place says: "Our goal is to ensure that Namibians have access to world-class medical procedures at home.
"By training local professionals, we are also building long-term capacity for high-quality care and paving the way for Namibia to become a hub for medical tourism."
Joffe says the availability of this service in Namibia also holds significant potential to attract patients from neighbouring countries.
Slabbert says the success of a hair transplant is dependent on a good team.
"Setting up our team was challenging in the beginning, but with the help of Dr Atodaria, we have established a dream team that is committed, talented and determined.
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"He is a master in bringing out our hidden skills of hand coordination so that we can successfully harvest and implant hair follicles without damaging them and ultimately deliver a promising result," she says.
Slabbert says the procedure will impact the future of medical aesthetics in Namibia, and shows that natural results can be achieved and self-confidence restored.
"Dr Atodaria is a world-renowned plastic and hair transplant surgeon who has published multiple articles about hair transplants, and has also designed and patented hair transplant equipment. We were very fortunate to have learnt from the best.
Vitiligo next
"He taught us all the micro steps on a dummy, and we practised for hours, which led to a success rate of 95% of harvesting follicular units. This success rate is equal to the global standard of excellence," she says.
"One thing about our dynamic team is that we always strive to deliver and assist our population with top-quality technology and procedures. And we have exciting things planned for the future. "Our next mission would be to focus on vitiligo surgery," she says.
Mwoombola-Hamutenya says aesthetic medicine is often overlooked.
"Maybe people don't really understand its value or understand it generally. I believe this would really encourage patients to regain their self-esteem," she says.
The surgery would mostly be used in cases of alopecia.
"I feel we would be contributing to that effect by allowing people to get back their confidence and feel better about themselves, centering it around mental health as well."
