Can someone explain difference? Does one method give better yield than other? Which is more common?

Thanks.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by "stick and place"?

if you mean saggital incisions, then do a find for "lateral versus saggital"

the very best doctors predetermine which incision method to use on a case by case scenario

__________________
HT with Dr. Cooley

I think the distinction is that in stick and place, the techs (not the doc) are making the majority of incisions right before they place the grafts.

The alternative is for the doc to make all the incisions by himself, and then have them filled by techs over the coming hours.

Do you trust the techs to control design, transection, and angulation?

__________________
My Hair Loss Web Site - Hair Transplant with Dr. Wong

if Emperor is correct, I personally would NOT trust the technicians with the control design and angulation of the slits

I leave that to the doctor

Transection is a BIG issue, remember the top docs here have probably done thousands of HT's meaning they really really have the experience. Last thing you want is to lose your existing hair, the whole point of this to prolong what you already have and add more, right?

__________________
HT with Dr. Cooley

I don't know enough to say which technique is superior. However, I don't think it's correct to assume stick and place is inferior simply because the techs place the hairs instead of the doc. Firstlty, it doesn't make sense to have 1 person doing a job that requires 2-3 people to do. Secondly, placing thousands of grafts seems like a meticulous job requiring a certain skill set that very experienced techs may be better at than docs.

Stick & place still requires the doc to make all the important decisions like density, coverage area, hair direction etc. To me, it just seems to make more sense to have a doc focus on the plan and have others execute it as the doc supervises.

Also, the idea of placing the grafts immediately after the incision is made seems more logical than having thousands of pre-made incisions sitting idle for several hours.

I'm no doc so I have no idea what yields better end results. But, stick & place makes more logical sense to me.

__________________
My Hair Loss Website - Hair Transplant with Dr. Simmons

When I think of the difference the main one would be that you always read about how the healing process in the slit acts as a glue to hold the graft in place. It would seem that a slit that has started, however slightly, this process is at an advantage against graft popping over a freshly made slit that is exuding blood. It also seems that stick and place is messier because of the continual bleeding which could also lead to more graft popping with less chance of seeing it quickly.

Another benefit of the doctor making slits is the repetitiveness would seem to help with consistent angulation. The only benefit I see of stick and place is as a time saver for the doctor.

I could be completely wrong (since I was drugged up), but I "believe" my doctor made all the incisions first, then the techs started placing the grafts in while he continued to make the incisions. After he was done with the incisions, he started to help graft placement.

Again, I was drugged out so I don't 100% remember

__________________
HT with Dr. Cooley

phil, can you describe what a slit is? I thought the incisions were the same and we were just talking about when the grafts are placed. what am I missed?

__________________
My Hair Loss Website - Hair Transplant with Dr. Simmons

Mega I'm using slit as a shorter version of recipient incision. We're on the same page.

N-6,

The "stick and place" technique describes the process in which the physician or technicians make a recipient site incision and then immediately place the graft into it. By placing grafts immediately into fresh incisions that have not had time to contract or coagulate, incisions can potentially be smaller relative to the size of the typical graft.

Pre-made incisions whether perpendicular (lateral/coronal) or paralel (sagital) are made by the physician first in a strategic and artistic pattern designed mimic nature.

In both techniques when done correctly, the depth and angle of the incision is controlled so the hairs will grow correctly in a pattern that mimics natural hair growth.

While the "stick and place" technique is less common, both Coalition members Dr. Limmer and Dr. Simmons use perform it regularly with excellent results. Likewise, dozens of leading physicians pre-make the incisions before transplanting the grafts with excellent results.

When selecting a physician, it's important to get to know each physician and their varying techniques. As a patient, you will ultimately have to decide what techniques and who you are most comfortable with and ultimately select a physician you connect with that consistently delivers excellent results.

All the Best,

Bill

__________________
Managing Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center, the Hair Loss Q&A Blog and the Hair Loss Forum and Social Community

Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

Subscribe to our Newsletters | How We Recommend Physicians

-----

To learn about how I restored my hair, view my my hair loss website.

Remember, true beauty radiates from within, not from the skin.

I am not a medical professional and my words should not be taken as medical advice. All opinions and views shared are my own.