Hair Restoration Moves Forward With Advanced Follicular Unit Extraction and uGraft

By Sanusi Umar, M.D.

Anyone who is considering a hair transplant procedure is probably aware of the two main surgical techniques that are available:

(1) Strip procedure:

In strip surgery, hair follicles are extracted from a linear excision of scalp tissue. This will leave a permanent scar on the back or sides of the head. Male patients will often try to hide this by wearing their hair in longer styles.

(2) Follicular Unit Extraction

Standard FUE hair transplant procedures involve the removal of "follicular units" directly from the scalp. These are natural groupings of one to four hair strands. Each excision is performed as a microsurgical punch which leaves a tiny round wound. These wounds heal within a few weeks. More people are starting to prefer FUE procedures because it will not leave a linear scar.

Advanced Follicular Unit Extraction

Advanced Follicular Unit Extraction goes beyond basic FUE. Many patients need a larger number of grafts to achieve their ideal outcome. However, the maximum number of follicles that can be attained from the head is about 7,000.

In Advanced FUE, graft extraction is not restricted to the head. Follicles can be harvested from:

(1) facial areas

(2) chest

(3) back

(4) arms

(5) legs

(6) abdomen

Extractions from these areas can greatly expand the number of donor follicles by creating supplies in the range of tens of thousands.

uGraft As A Necessary Tool For Advanced FUE

Some people might wonder why regular FUE techniques can't just be applied for body hairs. Here are a few reasons:

(1) Body hair follicles are more fragile than head hairs.

(2) Standard tools used in Follicular Unit Extraction can present greater room for human error and thus damage or bury the grafts

(3) Wound healing is particularly important since body donor areas are not covered in as much hair, unlike the head region. Special care needs to be devoted in order to facilitate immaculate healing outcomes. It should be noted that scarring is a risk for any procedure. However uGraft offers specialized measures to minimize this and make them as negligible as possible.

uGraft is a methodology that involves surgical processes (before and after the procedure) and specialized tools.

Features of uGraft Tools

The instruments are custom crafted with digital software precision. The punch units are developed to create specific wound sizes. And they are designed to also create specific wound shapes in order to facilitate the best healing results possible.

UGraft devices are motorized, hand held pieces. This technology includes a mechanism that helps with the extractions by gently pulling the follicles. With basic FUE instruments, the positioning of the punch is crucial.

However, many hairs do not grow straight up at a 90 degree angle. Most hair grows at a slant. And curly hair will grow in curvatures. In order to avoid damaging the follicles, the placement of the punch has to be very precise. But it is often difficult to ascertain the exact positioning. And the edges of the punch can damage or bury the graft.

The subtle pulling mechanism of uGraft contributes to the extraction of the follicles. This process is not entirely dependent on the punch excisions alone.

Patients who have undergone Advanced Follicular Unit Extraction procedures have reaped the benefits of:

(1) greater coverage through enlarged donor pools

(2) excellent healing outcomes on body donor regions

These surgeries can be used for mild to moderate hair loss. But even more so, they can also be performed on cases that were previously thought to be impossible:

(1) severe baldness

(2) donor depleted hair repair cases (due to multiple past procedures)

In addition to the tools and techniques, the best results also require that the surgeon has the right skill and expertise for creating detailed and natural looking outcomes.

Please visit http://www.dermhairclinic.com to view examples of real patients who have undergone Advanced Follicular Unit Extraction procedures with uGraft.

Information on free initial consultations for hair restoration can also be found on the site as well.

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