Hair Restoration

Everyone loses hair on a daily basis. In fact, it is normal for the average person to lose anywhere from 50 to 100 hairs every day. However, if you notice significant thinning or bald spots, then chances are you have some type of hair loss. If thinning hair or baldness is a concern to you, then you have definitely come to the right place. At Ciao Bella Medical, we only offer the most up to date and state of the art procedures in hair restoration to ensure you get the most natural results possible, and we are proud to be Arizona’s first and leading NeoGraft provider.

Modern Hair Restoration

Modern Hair Restoration

Surgical hair transplantation has come a long way from years past. Modern techniques can restore lost hair with your own natural, growing hair, and give individuals completely natural results. Hair restoration can be done so well now days, that often even a barber or stylist cannot tell that one has had surgery.

Hair transplantation involves removing permanent follicular hair units from the back and/or sides of the scalp (donor area) by either “Strip” Harvesting or the less invasive Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) method. Depending on the method of extraction utilized, the grafts are then prepared to be implanted in the balding areas. The grafts are meticulously planted into the bald or thinning area of the scalp (recipient area) so as not to injure any follicles already existing in the area and at the same exact angle as the other hairs present. When preparing the grafts, we create very small follicular unit grafts that allow us to give patients very natural, feathered hairlines, which do not have the abrupt, “pluggy look” that was commonly seen in hair transplants of years past.

Depending on the degree of balding, usually 1–3 procedures are performed, with the number of grafts used varying tremendously. Many factors determine the number of grafts needed such as future potential alopecia, the patient’s “safe” donor supply, the textural characteristics of the patient’s hair, and the specific goals of the patient.

Hair transplant surgery today is remarkably well tolerated. Within 24 hours small crusts will form on each graft that are then shed in approximately 4–14 days. The grafted hairs will often start to grow by 10–16 weeks after the procedure and will continue to grow for most, if not all, of one’s life.

Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)

Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)

Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) is a method of obtaining donor hair for Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) where individual follicular units are harvested directly from the donor area, without the need for a linear incision. With the FUE technique a .8mm to 1 mm punch is used to make a small circular incision in the skin around the upper part of the follicular unit, which is then extracted directly from the scalp.

Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) are sometimes mistakenly viewed as being two different procedures. In fact, FUE is a sub-type FUT, where the follicular units are extracted directly from the scalp rather than being microscopically dissected from a strip that has already been removed. Therefore, when comparisons are made between FUT and FUE, what is really being compared is the way the follicular grafts are obtained (i.e. strip harvesting and dissection vs. direct extraction). The process in the recipient area is the same.

History of FUE

FUE developed as an effort to address scarring in the donor area that occasionally becomes a problem with strip surgery. Usually the scar is fine and easily hidden by the remaining donor hair as long as it is longer than 1 cm. However, occasionally the scar can be wider and harder to hide.

In response to this problem, a few physicians began the development of an alternative method of harvesting grafts, Follicular Unit Extraction. By extracting individual grafts with a small micro punch, a linear scar was avoided.

Early versions of this technique had their own problems. Extracting each graft was difficult and a high transaction rate and damage to the grafts often occurred. The process was also slow, expensive, and far fewer grafts could be done at one time than with strip harvesting.

Through out the years, the instrumentation and techniques of FUE improved dramatically. The result of many improvements made it possible to perform FUE much more consistently with minimal damage to the grafts, more grafts per procedure, and little to no scarring. FUE quickly became a premium procedure thus the price per graft was considerably higher than that of strip harvesting. However, a new technology recently introduced called NeoGraft has changed the game for FUE. With the NeoGraft, the FUE process is dramatically improved allowing us to perform higher number of grafts per session with a higher degree of success. This automation has enabled us to price this premium procedure similar to the strip method prices.

What Type of Patients Benefit from FUE?

The main advantage of FUE is that it does not cause a linear scar and is, therefore, particularly useful for the following type of patients:

• Patients who want the option of wearing their hair short and not have any evidence that a procedure was done. If a patient has his head shaved, a linear scar may be noticeable even if it is very fine. This may be due to the subtle change in direction of hair above and below the scar. With FUE, after the extractions heal, it is very difficult to see the incisions even with the hair short.

• Young patients who currently need only a small number of grafts in the hairline and the future degree of hair loss is not known. Some patients in this position say that if they would progress to total hair loss on the top of their head, they would rather shave their hair than go through more surgeries to keep up with the loss. With FUE, they have the option to stop and shave their head if they have only had 1-2 small procedures.

• Patients who have already had strip harvesting and now have a tight scalp which would make more harvesting difficult. FUE can be used to obtain more grafts.

• Patients who need to camouflage a widened linear donor scar from a prior hair transplant procedure.

NeoGraft FUE

NeoGraft FUE

At Ciao Bella, we offer the most advanced and successful technology available for Hair Restoration with a new breakthrough system called NeoGraft. Recently introduced from Europe and cleared by the FDA, this new Hair Transplantation system uses a proprietary technology to harvest by FUE and implant individual hair follicles to ensure a truly natural look.

NeoGraft is a new revolutionary technology for hair transplantation. It is the latest FDA cleared technology for automated, “No Scalpel and No Linear Scar” Hair Transplantation. With the NeoGraft method of "follicular unit extraction", or “FUE”, hair follicles are gently and efficiently lifted from the donor area by way of a high tech, automated micro instrument and then immediately transplanted into the recipient area utilizing a secondary pressure assisted hand piece.

The NeoGraft automated technology allows us to harvest and implant pristine grafts with virtually no human touch required. Patients greatly benefit from virtually no pain or bleeding, no numbness or scars associated with traumatic incisions, faster recovery and more natural results due to the precision of the process.

The NeoGraft device automates the whole process and makes it much more consistent making this gold standard procedure even better than before, and because of the same automation we can price this procedure similar to the strip method prices finally making affordable to all.

Call us an schedule your free consultation to see if you are a candidate for this breakthrough procedure.

Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT)

Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT)

Follicular Unit Transplantation involves removing a strip of permanent hair-bearing skin from the back and/or sides of the scalp (donor area). Then, using magnification, highly skilled technicians dissect the tissue into follicular unit grafts (containing 1–4 hairs). These small grafts are then meticulously planted into the bald or thinning area of the scalp(recipient area).

What happens during a hair transplant procedure?

Hair transplantation surgery is considered to be “minor out-patient surgery.” Hair transplant procedures can take from 3–8 hours and is performed using local anesthesia on an out-patient basis, often with some supplemental oral or IV medication for sedation. Patients are often awake, but feel very relaxed because of the effect of the sedative. There is typically little discomfort during the surgical procedure.

The donor areas, where the grafts have been harvested, are usually closed with sutures or surgical staples, except in the Follicular Unit Extraction technique, which does not require surgical closure. These are usually removed in 7–14 days. The recipient sites, where the grafts are placed on top, are essentially small, superficial needle holes or slits in the skin of the scalp. Depending on each individual, our surgeon will discuss with you the pros and cons of the various methods of both donor harvesting and transplanting the grafts. At the end of the procedure, either a very light dressing is applied, or, in some cases, we will have you stay for brief observation and then allow you to leave with no dressing whatsoever. At the conclusion of the procedure our surgeon checks the final placement of the grafts, and explains the postoperative instructions, which we supply in written form as well.Hair transplant surgery today is remarkably well tolerated. Within 24 hours small crusts will form on each graft that are then shed in approximately 4–14 days. The grafted hairs will often start to grow by 10–16 weeks after the procedure and will continue to grow for most, if not all, of one’s life.

Who can benefit from hair restoration surgery?

Who can benefit from hair restoration surgery?

Anyone who has experienced permanent hair loss may be a candidate for hair restoration surgery, including:

• Men with male pattern baldness

• Women with female pattern hair loss

• Men or women who want to restore or change the shape of their hairline

• People with areas of scarring from injuries or “scarring” skin diseases, and also patients who experienced some hair loss after surgery, such as face lift procedures

• People who want to thicken or restore eyebrows, eyelashes, and beards

• Men and women who want hair in an area where they have little or no hair

Good candidates for hair restoration

The elements that our doctor assesses to determine whether a patient is a good candidate for surgical hair restoration include such things as: the patient’s general state of health; the hair’s texture—fine or coarse; the contrast between the patient’s hair color and skin color; the density, i.e., the number of hair follicles per square inch of the hair in the donor area; the size of the area to be covered; the size of the area of donor hair; whether or not previous grafting procedures have been done; and the patient’s goals and expectations. Making an accurate diagnosis and making treatment recommendations require an examination and a frank discussion of possibilities between the patient and the doctor.

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To find out more about your hair restoration options or non-surgical hair loss treatments please visit our site exclusively dedicated to Hair Restoration at: www.Phoenix-NeoGraft.com