Q: Dr. Bernstein, is a follicular unit hair transplant, the way you perform it, very painful? — M.C., Laguna Niguel, C.A.

A: We perform our hair transplant procedures using long-acting, local anesthesia, so after the initial injections, the patient doesn’t experience any pain or discomfort.

The local anesthesia (a combination of Lidocaine and Marcaine) lasts about 4-5 hours. For long sessions, we give additional anesthesia before the first wears off.

Before we start the local anesthesia, we give most patients IM Versed (also known as midazolam). This medication is a very fast acting sedative that is very relaxing. Some patients even doze off at the beginning of the procedure. This is very different, however from the deep sleep produced by general anesthesia.