Occasionally, one of my friends or patients will ask if I perform hair replacement, since plastic surgery training is most pertinent to the provision of that service. The notion of hair replacement wasn't front-of-mind for me, but when a friend asked me to evaluate a hair replacement program for him, I learned a few interesting things...
For example, did you know that
by the age of 35, over 40% of men have noticeable hair loss, and 65% of women have noticeable hair loss by the age of 60?I was surprised by these high figures, particularly among women. Here's an amazing fact: did you know that the hairs at the back of the head are genetically programmed
never to fall out but those on the top and sides of the head are not? That's why male pattern baldness always leaves a man with that little "ring" of hair towards the back of the head! It's a genetic program we all have.
So, I took a look at my friend's proposed hair replacement plan. Unfortunately, the program he was considering was based on
the strip method, which requires surgical removal of a strip of hair to be placed into a bald area and leaves a
long linear scar, which is less than ideal (the trade of the scar for the hair is usually worthwhile for most, but if you could avoid the scar you would, right?).
I kept searching on his behalf.
The most impressive method I found is called FUE, which is short for
Follicular Unit Extraction, a technique that extracts and moves one hair follicle at a time. Because this looks the most natural, it's the most expensive, since it involves a great deal of time and effort, and expertise on the part of the physician to pluck each hair out with a tweezer. The cost of FUE is outside the reach of the average person, including my neighbor
But something else caught my attention—the NeoGraft machine. I saw it, I loved what it does, and because nobody in my area is using it, I bought a NeoGraft for our Orlando Plastic Surgery and Skin Care Center!
The NeoGraft is a better way to do hair transplants because it's faster, less invasive, and gives a much more natural hair growth pattern (since only one follicular unit is transplanted at a time).The NeoGraft enables me to give my patients the best results with the least time, money, discomfort and inconvenience. More than 6,000 hair transplants have been performed in the past 5 years using this technology—they love it in Asia and Europe, and now we have it here in the US—and we've been thoroughly trained on its use.
Here are the benefits of the NeoGraft method:
• My staff and I have been extensively trained on this device.
No matter what method one chooses for hair replacement, your outcome and safety will come down to the skill of the plastic surgeon and their staff using it. That's first and foremost.
• This method requires
no invasive surgery, meaning a faster recovery + less risk for complications such as infection, obvious scar formation or scalp tightness.
• There are
no linear scars as in the strip method, so you can wear hair as short as you wish without fear of showing a long, thick line on the back of your head.
• Faster than FUE (tweezing one by one) but delivers the same natural results
• Less expensive than traditional FUE
• Pneumatic pressure (suctioning) removes the follicles so almost all follicles are useable (strip harvest by hand leads to a greater rate of follicle loss).
• More than double the follicles that are extracted with the NeoGraft survive compared with traditional FUE grafting.
If you or a loved one has hair loss issues, come in and see me. This is the next best thing to never losing your hair in the first place, because the natural results will be your own little secret!
