The founders in the field of hair transplantation have been responsible for a significant shift in the field. To get a satisfactory cosmetic outcome from hair transplantation, creating a hairline that seems natural and has an acceptable amount of density is necessary. An experience is given with a few patients transplanted via the direct hair implantation (DHI) procedure, and this note outlines the options available in hair thinning surgery and the principles of non-surgical treatments.
An Overview of The Development of Hair Transplantation Techniques
The conventional method of performing a transplant may be traced back to the 1930s, as stated by the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery, as well as the majority of stories available today.
Even though Dr Norman Orentreich is frequently referred to as the “father” of hair transplant surgery, Dr Shoji Okuda has recently been credited with discovering the punch graft transplant process. Dr Okuda was the first person to develop techniques to assist burn sufferers in regaining their hair growth. He developed these procedures in the 1930s.
However, due to the outbreak of World War II, Okuda’s studies and work were never shared outside of Japan. It wasn’t until 2004 that The Okuda Papers were discovered and translated into English from their original Japanese.
Procedures For Hair Plugs in The Beginning Years
Dr Norman Orentreich is recognized for setting the commencement of a transformation in aesthetics and starting transplantation treatments in North America. To be more exact, Orentreich carried out the first transplantation that was ever known to be used as a therapy for male baldness in 1952.
Orentreich’s discoveries were initially met with scepticism, but after the publication of his seminal study seven years later, they became widely accepted. In this work, Orentriech pioneered the donor-dominance idea, which established that hair follicles on the sides and back of the head are frequently more resilient to hair loss and will retain healthy development when collected and implanted in locations that follicles have been dormant or damaged. This concept proved that follicles on the sides and back of the head are typically more immune to balding than those on the top.
Unfortunately, to use Orentreich’s procedure, enormous circular skin grafts, the size of which is comparable to that of pencil erasers, had to be extracted and transplanted. Imagine it as a function similar to cutting and pasting. The method frequently produced results that appeared unnatural. The procedure produced a “toothbrush” look, with circular portions of hair resembling the rows of bristles on a toothbrush.
Despite this, the practice continued to gain more and more favour during the 1970s. Considering that this was the only method of surgical hair transplantation available at the time, individuals who desired a more effective hair restoration procedure were left with little room for maneuver.
Follicular Unit Transplantation
Strip harvesting often referred to as follicular unit transplantation (FUT), overtook hair plugs as the gold standard in the business throughout the 1980s and continued until the 2000s. A strip of skin is removed from the scalp during the FUT procedure so surgeons can use it for transplantation. The doctor meticulously prepares these cuts to guarantee that only whole and healthy follicles will be removed, which is essential for achieving the best possible outcomes.
After the strip has been removed from the skin, the incision made to remove it is closed with stitches while the physician’s associates separate naturally produced clusters of follicles into follicular cells from the extracted strips. The physician next constructs micro-puncture areas for implanting the grafts using follicles set in a planned order to mimic the patient’s natural hair thickness and growth patterns. The grafts are then transplanted into the patient’s scalp. Any extra tissue that could potentially harm the hair follicles is cut away during the procedure.
Even though the outcomes of strip extraction may look more natural than those of hair plugs, the donor area will be left with a linear scar after the process. The recovery time is reduced to about two weeks, although patients may be required to keep their hair long enough to conceal any potential stitches and scarring.
Gold Standard Robotics Combined with Follicular Unit Excision
The follicular unit excision (FUE) extraction method, which improved the FUT method, was first established in Japan in 1988. However, the method failed to catch on in the hair transplant industry. The method required a significant investment of time and money to learn, and the founders had not developed the technology needed to assist surgeons in the procedure. FUE treatments, once considered experimental, have since become the industry standard for hair transplantation.
The FUE technique removes individual follicular units containing one to four hairs from the scalp. This process is done under a simple local anaesthetic with no larger than 1mm micro-punches. After determining the pattern and density of the patient’s hair development, the physician makes adequate micro-puncture locations to implant the grafts into the patient’s scalp.
Tiny openings are left at donor sites after FUE hair transplantation because the procedure uses small incisions to detach the follicular cell from the surrounding tissue. These holes do not require stitches and heal on their own in a few days, with no threat of linear scarring.
While the initial hair transplant procedures employing the FUE method required a stable hand and took significant time to complete, physician exhaustion was a risk during the procedure. New technology has allowed patients to experience greater comfort, safety, and accuracy in their treatments, leading to better overall results.
In contrast to the more conventional harvesting methods performed manually, the NeoGraft FUE hair transplant procedure replaces the scalpel with an automated handpiece that utilizes cutting-edge technology to incise and eliminate donor follicles gently. With the device, medical professionals can separate hair follicles and implant them in a pattern and angle, resulting in more natural-looking results and a shorter treatment time.
Conclusion
Hair transplantation is currently the most effective treatment for balding or thinning hair. In addition to the surgical procedure, using non-surgical measures might give the patient an even better outcome. The encouraging outcomes shown in the regenerative medicine field with cell-based therapies may transform how hair transplantation is performed and the possibilities available.
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