Is the Neograft device a technological advancement in FUE that will replace the proven Follicular Unit Strip technique ?

• Cost of Neograft FUE device is around 90,000.00
• Size of case under best conditions is less than 2000 grafts.
• Time of extraction under best conditions is still 4-6 hours.
• Learning curve is long over 2 years and hundreds of cases.
• Patient demand in U.S. is low, less than 10% of all hair transplant procedures performed last year were FUE.

I have been involved in the hair transplant field since 1993 and I believe that FUE is not an advancement over the Strip Follicular Unit surgery that is being done today.  With the use of Trichophytic closure and Minde recipient site blades, the short comings of F.U. surgery have been eliminated.  The initial cost of the Neograft is huge compared to starting up a F.U. transplant clinic, you still have to market the procedure.  There is a small amount of buzz being created by the sellers of the device on daytime television talk shows, this is in know way representative of a demand by the public that is looking to treat their hair loss problems.  There are other automated FUE devices available to hair transplant surgeons the Feller Motorized Extraction Device is the most advanced, A to Z Surgical sells them along with other surgical instrument supply companies.  The biggest difference I notice about these devices is they were designed, built, and are being sold by experienced hair transplant surgeons, Neograft on the other hand is being sold by a marketing company, similar to companies that sell lasers to physicians and you know how many of those sit unused in a doctors office because the demand was grossly overstated by the salesmen.  If you have 90,000.00 to invest in a start-up hair restoration venture you would be better off spending half the money on training with a top of the line hair transplant surgeon and the other half on marketing.    

To achieve the best results in hair transplant surgery, hair transplant doctors and technicians rely on specialized forceps, light boxes, microscopes and custom blades for the dissection and placement of the follicular units.  There are hundreds of items available in this category of surgical instrumentation and supplies, but a few have risen to the top as the most requested by both hair transplant doctors and surgical assistants.

Hair Transplant Microscopes:

Mantis:  The most sought after by the hair transplant technicians because it is the most ergonomically friendly.  This microscope allows the user to sit upright and visualize the follicular units on a wider screen versus two separate eyepieces.  This reduces the neck and shoulder fatigue that occurs after hours of dissecting follicular units and will make for a more efficient hair transplant procedure that can lead to better growth rates for the patient.

Binocular Microscope:  First used in hair transplant surgery in 1988, this type of scope was very good until hair transplant cases started to exceed 1500 follicular units on a regular basis.  Even though the optics can be superior to the Mantis, the ergonomic drawbacks have made it the second choice of hair transplant technicians who have to dissect and then place thousands of follicular units every day.

Light Boxes:  Probably the greatest asset to the hair transplant procedure and technicians.  This device allows the technicians to visualize the 1,2,3 and four haired follicular units, just as a radiologist uses an x-ray to see fractures in bones.  They come in various sizes and must be used with a transparent cutting surface.  The Clearvue cutting strips allow this and offer a better grip than other surfaces. 

Choosing the best Forceps for Follicular Unit Insertion

Surgical hair restoration underwent some dramatic changes in the 90's with the use of microscopes and the ability to dissect follicular units.  Though surgical techniques have involved incredibly over the last 17 years, the forceps that are needed to to insert the hair has not.  In the last 2 years the blades that are used to make the recipient sites have gotten as small as .6mm and the average is 1mm, add in the use of coronal sites and dense packing as tight as 60 F.U.'s/cm2 and it has become very hard for the hair transplant technicians to place the grafts.  All of these innovations have taken the "hair transplant" to the highest level and greatly benefited the patient.  The technicians who perform hair transplants have always been creative and have developed more than a few of the breakthrough technologies.  In regards to forceps used for placing grafts we have modified existing models to help us benefit the patient; unfortunately engineering has not been able to keep up with our abilities until now.  A few years ago I contacted A to Z surgical to discuss this challenge and they provided a solution, an opthamology forcep that has very small tips, and .12mm teeth.  We purchased 4 of these hair transplant forceps and did an extensive evaluation that had us placing tens of thousands of grafts over a 6 month period.  We found that we can place the smallest follicular units with great speed; we also noticed that experienced hair transplant technicians could almost double their speed of placement with these forceps.  There is an initial learning curve, but the small teeth give you incredible control without crushing the delicate follicle.  If you are challenged by placing the small hairs that Follicular Unit Transplants require, try these forceps.  You will be able to elevate the patient satisfaction in your clinic and perform the larger hair transplant cases in less time.  You can find these forceps at A to Z surgical www.atozsurgical.com

If you would like to order hair transplant instruments or supplies contact us at: supplies@hairtechs.com