Benefits of micrografts

Nearly undetectable

The main benefit of follicular unit micrografting is that the final results are nearly undetectable as transplants. The relocated hair follicles grow new hairs just as they had done in their previous location, and with expert placement of the grafts, the new hairs grow out in a natural way.

The individual small grafts can be placed in a way that mimics natural hair growth more easily than would be possible using old style full-size grafts alone. Many people who would in the past not be considered good candidates for full size grafts because the area requiring coverage is too large to be adequately covered with the limited amount of donor follicles available, are good candidates for follicular unit micrografting. With expert placement of the grafts, micrografting allows the look of more coverage, with less donor hairs.

Add densit

Micrografts can be individually placed between other growing hairs, adding density to thin areas, before these areas become completely bald. Men just beginning to experience receding hairlines, and women just starting to have overall thinning, can both benefit from follicular unit micrografting procedures before their hair loss becomes more apparent.

Pain

Prior to surgery, all patients are given a “cocktail” consisting of a tranquilizer, a short-acting sleeping pill, and a painkiller. Most patients fall asleep within 15 minutes and wake up near the end of the procedure. During surgery the scalp is numbed with local anesthetics.

The following procedures in hair transplantations are not recommended

“Bare follicle” grafts: Some surgeons specially prepare single-hair “monografts” by separating follicular units and then trimming away from the individual follicles all excess fat and scalp tissue in an effort to promote fast revascularization. This additional handling may actually reduce the survival rate of the grafts, and Dr. Karalexis considers this to be a risky and unacceptable technique.

Machine cut grafts: Some procedures use machines to separate donor material into individual grafts, achieving great savings in time and labor. Sometimes these savings are passed on to patients in the form of cheaper hair transplant quotes. But these graft cutting machines are guillotine like devices with multiple blades, and do not identify individual follicles within each graft, so while every graft is uniform in size and there is less handling of each graft, there is also substantially more transection, or “cutting-in-half” of the follicles themselves. Although many transected follicles will still survive and grow normal hairs, skilled surgeons prefer the higher yield and whole follicles that result from individually hand cut grafts. Dr. Karalexis believes that there is no substitute for the graft-cutting judgment and surgical skill of a physician or experienced team of medical assistants.

Variations in graft placement pattern

A wide range of graft placement patterns exist, and most are custom tailored to each individual for each session. In general, micrografts are placed so that even with future hair loss, they will look natural. Some surgeons use a grid, or a grid pattern, to assure that individual grafts do not crowd other hairs and threaten their survival. Others place the grafts in a more random pattern, while taking care to allow adequate space between grafts. Dr karalexis selects the best graft placement method for each patient, for each procedure. Among the factors taken into consideration are the size of the grafts to be placed, the amount of existing hair on the scalp, the color contrast between the skin and hair, and the number of procedures to be performed as part of each patient’s complete treatment program.

Special Location Transplants: These are micrograft transplants to locations other than the scalp, such as the eyebrows, sideburns, mustache, and even eyelash areas. Often patients need special location micrografts to correct flaws from vehicle accidents, burns, or other surgical procedures. Others may need to cover scars from cosmetic surgery procedures, and some simply want to enhance their facial hair. Special location transplants require great care in the placement of each graft so that the angle and direction of the transplanted hairs mimic the natural pattern of hairs growing in those areas.