Today, hair transplants are becoming more and more popular, for both men and women because of its convenience. They don’t have to wear wigs or use hair-growing products anymore if they undergo hair transplantation. A lot of cosmetic surgery clinics, like Vera Clinic in Turkey, offer different hair transplant procedures.
How does it work?
Hair transplant is a process wherein the hairless portion or the bald spot will be planted with hair follicles removed from the donor area, such as the legs or face. The result of this procedure will be permanent, but to achieve a satisfying outcome, several sessions may be needed. It may also take several months for the healing process between each surgery session to be completed, and it might take two years before seeing the operation’s final result.
There’s a lot of surgical options for this procedure, especially today, when innovations are expanding as time goes by, making hair transplant technology quite popular. Here are some of those:
Direct Hair Implantation
A tool called Choi Implanter Pen removes the hair follicles one by one, which will then be inserted into the bald or thin areas of the scalp. This procedure might take longer since efficiency is a key factor, and only one surgeon will be performing it with the use of the implanter pen. The results, however, will be precise.
Here are the steps for direct hair implantation:
- One by one, the hair follicles on the donor area will be extracted using the Choi Implanter Pen.
- Hair follicles that are extracted will be collected and in a solution, which enhances the follicles’ development after placement, and will be stored in a specific temperature.
- The DHI implanter will be used to inject the hair follicles one by one to the recipient’s bald area.
Robotic Hair Restoration
The robot’s stereoscopic vision system will be using artificial intelligence to detect the most suitable hair follicles to harvest and to be implanted. Once selected, these will be gathered precisely to ensure a more natural-looking result, leaving the area without any trace of scars. This hair implantation is much faster than DHI.
The ARTAS Robotic Procedure is one of the latest robotic hair transplant systems that’s increasing in popularity. It reduces human error, eliminates fatigue, and provides algorithms to experts to adjust every patient’s procedure. Patients will experience a quick healing and recovery process, and will just feel minimal pain.
Here’s how the procedure will go:
- Before the actual procedure, a simulation will be done using ARTAS by a physician to see what you would look like when the transplant is done.
- The doctor will then estimate the number of grafts needed for the transplant.
- During the procedure, ARTAS will analyze the scalp. It will identify and examine which follicles are suited for transplantation using multiple cameras with software algorithms.
- Every 20 milliseconds, it will recalculate the hair positions to make sure the dissection and optimal grafts are right.
- Extraction will be continued until the needed number of grafts are obtained.
Follicular Unit Extraction
FUE transplant uses a tiny cutting machine to remove hair follicles individually from a part of the scalp covered with hair. Thereafter, a fine blade will create small sites on the bald area in which the hair follicles will be inserted. This is the most common and the least invasive type of hair transplant.
Here are the steps for this procedure:
- From the donor area, hair follicles will be extracted one by one.
- Hair follicles will be collected and divided under the microscope.
- Holes or slits are done on the recipient’s bald area.
- Hair follicles will be dropped to the slits and holes by using tweezers.
In 2018, the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery or ISHRS announced that Follicular Unit Extraction will be changed to Follicular Unit Excision. Since a lot of progress has been made to make this procedure deliver more natural results with short recovery times and fewer side effects, using the word excision will be more accurate for it. This word also acknowledges that it’s an actual surgery, and not just about plucking hair follicles.
