Dr. Robert M. Bernstein introduced a new capability of the ARTAS® robotic system, “Follicular Unit Graft Selection,” at the ARTAS User Group Meeting on February 6-7, 2015 in Newport Coast, CA. He presented the new technology and the preliminary results of a bilateral pilot study of the technique conducted at Bernstein Medical.
Posted by Updated 2018-07-03
Q: I recently had a hair transplant procedure done in Florida and it has been about 8 months. When I am in direct overhead light and when sunlight is behind me, I see many tiny holes that are not visible under normal light. I know these are where they placed the transplanted hair but need to know if there is a way to remove these tiny holes. I am obviously not getting any answers from the doctor that performed the hair restoration. I am wondering if dermal fillers, dermabrasion, or laser treatment would work to fix this and if so, do you offer these treatments?
A: This condition is often referred to as pitting and occurs when grafts are placed below the surface of the skin. It is more common with large grafts rather than small ones and is almost never seen in Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT).
In general, visible holes can result from mini-micrografting hair transplant procedures where the grafts (and thus the recipient sites needed to hold them) are larger than approximately 1.2mm. Recipients sites smaller than 1.2 rarely leave any mark. In follicular unit hair transplant procedures, the grafts will fit into sites smaller than 1.2mm so surface changes are generally not seen (even if the grafts are not placed flush with the skin).
Posted by Updated 2015-12-16Q: Dr. Bernstein, I remember Senator William Proxmire. He was one of the first sort of high-profile people who had a hair transplant probably, what, thirty years ago, and to be honest with you, it wasn’t all that great. It looked kind of funny. Have we made any progress in the last twenty-five, thirty years? — A.E., Fort Lee, N.J.
A: When hair transplant surgery was first developed in the late 1950s, early 1960s, everybody was so ecstatic that it grew – that one could actually move hair from the back of the head to the top, and it would grow – that no one really considered either the long-term implications or the aesthetic aspects of the procedure. And the fact that the hair grew is actually a problem because it never went away when it was transplanted poorly.
Over the years the grafts have gotten smaller and smaller. So where in the ’60s and ’70s they were the size of pencil erasers, they gradually decreased in size until doctors were performing hair transplants using just a few hairs at a time. The major breakthrough came in the mid 1990s when we realized that hair doesn’t grow individually but grows in little tiny groups and these groups are called follicular units.
In modern hair transplant surgery (which began in 1995) hair is taken from the back of the scalp and moved to the front and top of the scalp in these individual groups of one to four hairs.
In this way the results can completely mimic the way hair grows in nature.
See the Follicular Unit Transplant (FUT) section for more information.
Posted by Updated 2017-12-01Q: Is it possible to tell me roughly how many grafts would be left from donor area if one had a hair transplant of 2,500 grafts and had a density of around 2.0? G.H. – New York, NY
A: How much hair can be harvested in total depends upon a number of factors besides donor density. These include: scalp laxity, hair characteristics (such as hair shaft diameter, color and wave), and the actual dimensions of the permanent zone.
Every person is different, so all of these factors would need to be taken into account to determine the total number of grafts that would be available for the hair restoration.
Posted by Updated 2017-04-11Q: What causes graft popping during a hair transplant? G.K. – Carle Place, N.Y.
A: Popping, or the tendency for grafts to elevate after they have been placed into the recipient area, is caused by a number of factors including:
The problem with popping is that it exposes grafts to drying (while they are elevated on the skin surface) and trauma (when they have to be re-inserted).
The judgment and experience of the surgeon performing hair transplants is extremely important in minimizing popping. It is important that the surgeon customize the site size to the different size follicular unit grafts and to test the recipient sites as they are made, to make sure that the “fit” is perfect.
Although it is important to place grafts close together to get the best cosmetic result possible, over-packing of the grafts risks popping and other factors (such as overwhelming the blood supply) that may lead to poor growth.
In the end, maximum growth of the transplanted hair should be the primary goal.
Posted by Updated 2017-12-11
Hair loss has a variety of causes. Diagnosis and treatment is best determined by a board-certified dermatologist. We offer both in-person and online photo consults.
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