Punch sizes and implanters

[elduterino]

I visited a local FUE clinic to discuss covering the one inch or so of hair at the hairline , lost long time ago before I started FIN. We are talking 1500 grafts.

My hair has been stable since the time I started FIN.

 

I'd like to discuss HT methods used not the needs for the surgery.

 

They showed me their special tools and explained in detail how they work: the extractor is a motorized punch of 0.8 mm diameter.

 

They extract grafts and divide by group of 1, 2 or 3+ hair and then load them into the machine which sucks them up.

 

The implanter is a 0.65 mm punch but it uses a vacuum/air pressure apparatus to squeeze the larger graft into that small 0.65 mm hole in the skin at the implantation zone.

 

They say they can achieve higher density since holes are smaller and the implanter does not rely on the technique of lateral slit.

 

The lateral slit uses a tool like a pinset to stretch the hole open by hand while the graft is inserted.

 

They said that the lateral slit is good to place carefully selected hair at a certain position but it does not allow such high density and also produces more skin damage - the bumpy, avocado skin effect we often see.

 

Their implanter also allows for angle control.

 

Any feedback on this method ?

 

Note: I have been posting for years on another hair loss forum, I just registered here today as there seem to be more activity o hair transplants overall

[KO]

I've seen your posts on HLH. No comment on the implanter, but regarding extraction punch, did you ask them whether they use different punch sizes, and for what hair types? The forums tout smaller punches, but for patients with curly hair, or nonparallel follicles, larger punches will be needed.

 

 

Would you mind naming the clinic?

[elduterino]

the clinic is in Asia

 

They don't have much curly hair patients as you can imagine,

 

They use one size punch for both the extraction and implementation, which based on their test is the best size combination for the system to work and graft survival.

 

From what I understand the machine and implanter is calibarted to deal with only one size graft.

 

They also offer some regular lateral slit implatation work for special areas such as the lower side of the temples which may be harder for the machine to achieve a natural look because of the risk of implanting too thick of a hair...they don't select each hair one by one - they only select which number of hair a graft has and load a bunch of it into the implanter.

 

One issue we have with regular FUE is the diffculty to achieve a high density for good coverage especially if your native hair is dense..this method seems quite good in this regard.

 

Is 0.8m a really small punch size for the extraction ?

 

What sizes are usually used at other places ?

[elduterino]

Quick update : this clinic use the omnigraft/neogtfat tool which is made by the French company medicamat

 

 

 

Medicamat | Aesthetic, Medical and Surgical Devices

 

Several clinics are also offering this out of the USA I think ... I saw a few discussions here any experiences and results ?

 

The doc is experienced in using it and he is a real ht only doc with previous Fut experience who does use the machine daily now for a few years he said . They store the grafts in liquid as soon as those are sucked out by the Punch air-matic tool, so graft drying isn't really an issue according to him...

 

They seem pretty confident in terms of yield of 90% or more but again , not sure how to compare to regular fue .

 

I am not really constrained by budget or travel and this neograft procedure isn't particularly cheap either at around $8 per graft but with no travel costs for me though .

I am only looking for the best results though

[JoeTillman]

The implanter is a 0.65 mm punch but it uses a vacuum/air pressure apparatus to squeeze the larger graft into that small 0.65 mm hole in the skin at the implantation zone.

 

This has "NO" written all over it. Grafts can dry out in machines like this due to the intense suction needed to move the grafts from the donor, to the reservoir and back to the recipient site. Grafts must be kept moist for every second they are out of the body and any moment they dry out, they're dead.

 

Seek treatment elsewhere.

[gillenator]

The suction can also potentially remove some of the blood within the graft tissue which can also cause the grafts to perish...:confused:

 

IMHO the proper approach is to make sure the size and type of recipient incisions being made accommodate the peripheral size of the grafts being placed into the recipient sites.