One of the Austin hair restoration options at Hall Plastic Surgery and Rejuvenation Center is the NeoGraft® Hair Transplantation System. In hair transplantation, hair follicles are moved from one area of the scalp to the areas where there is thinning and bald spots, says Dr. Hall. The difference between the advanced technology of the NeoGraft® Hair Transplantation procedure and traditional hair transplantation is that the NeoGraft® Hair Transplantation method is not a strip method. In typical hair transplantation procedures, doctors will actually take a strip of your scalp from the base of your neck and then move that strip to the bald, thinning areas, says Dr. Hall. This is much more invasive than NeoGraft® Hair Transplantation, involves more downtime due to swelling, and because you are moving the actual hair line up, it makes for a more noticeable change.

With the NeoGraft® Hair Transplantation procedure, the Austin hair restoration technician moves each hair follicle individually. The technician can take one hair follicle out of a group of 10 so that when your hair is growing back, you would never notice a follicle was ever taken. In the area where the hair follicle will be placed, a tiny incision – the size of needle prick – is made and the single, transplanted hair follicle is placed in the incision site. The procedure is very discrete and after recovery, there is no visible alteration to the hair line, says Dr. Hall. There are no staples, stitches or scarring associated with NeoGraft® Hair Transplantation, which creates very minimal downtime.  The Austin hair restoration technician can choose where the hair follicles will be taken, which creates a much more natural look, and the chance of rejection is much less than with traditional hair transplantation procedures.

Depending on how many transplanted hair follicles the patient needs determines how long the procedure will take. Patients vary from needing a few hundred grafts to a few thousand. During a hair transplantation consultation, patients will be quoted based on the number of grafts they need.

Another Austin hair restoration option is the Revage 670 hair restoration laser. With this specific laser procedure, says Dr. Hall, no hair follicles are moved. Instead, the laser treatment stimulates hair growth. This stimulation of the hair follicles helps encourage hair to become thicker, fuller and grow more quickly, Dr. Hall says.

For more information on Austin hair restoration procedures, contact the Hall Plastic Surgery and Rejuvenation Center today.

How do you know which Atlanta hair restoration center is right for you? According to Alvarado, there are real differences between his clinic’s hair transplant procedure, called NeoGraft, and the surgical transplantation procedures used at most other hair restoration centers.  Alvarado says that not only does NeoGraft offers excellent results, it also involves less discomfort, less downtime, no scarring, and absolutely no scalpels.

What Is It?

Like hair transplant surgery, NeoGraft involves removing hair from one area of the scalp (a donor site) and transplanting it to another area of the scalp. But unlike the hair transplantation method most commonly used, the strip method, NeoGraft doesn’t require cutting away a section of the scalp itself.

Rather than using a scalpel, a doctor performing NeoGraft hair harvesting uses a handheld device that harvests tiny, virtually undetectable units of hair from the donor site. This targeted removal of individual hair follicles is known as Follicular-Unit Extraction (FUE). While the first FUE techniques involved manual extraction, NeoGraft’s cutting-edge technology has made the procedure simpler, faster, and more affordable by automating the process.

Once the follicles have been harvested from the donor site, the doctor uses a high-powered surgical microscope to transplant them to the area in which hair loss has occurred. This offers excellent, natural-looking results without the scarring, stitches or staples usually associated with hair transplant surgery. The entire procedure is performed using only local anesthetic, and the lack of scarring makes it possible for the patient to wear his or her hair even very short after the procedure.

NeoGraft is effective for both men and women, and requires virtually no downtime. The patient can expect to return to work the next day, and should be back in the gym within a week.

Why Follicle Transplantation Group?

According to Alvarado, among the most compelling reasons to choose Follicle Transplantation Group is that he and his partner hire only top quality doctors and technicians. Both Alvarado himself and the clinic’s co-founder have extensive experience working in the hair restoration industry, and, in total, the clinic’s staff has over 60 years of experience.

Follicle Transplantation Group’s primary physician, Dr. Brian Maloney, has over 18 years of hair transplant experience himself. A true expert in the field of hair restoration, Dr. Maloney is also a world-renowned cosmetic surgeon whose work has been spotlighted on Discovery Health, CNN and other popular television programs.

“The very minimum amount of hair restoration experience on our team is seven years,” says Alvarado. “These specialists are critical to the great results we achieve for our clients.” It’s the team’s experience and long history of success, he says, along with the advantages of the NeoGraft procedure, that make Follicle Transplantation Group the best choice for hair restoration in Atlanta.

According to Atlanta NeoGraft specialist Rob Alvarado of Follicle Transplantation Group, while hair transplantation isn’t cheap, new technological advances have made the procedure more affordable, especially when compared to the long-term costs of other hair restoration methods.

“You have to put things into perspective,” says Alvarado. “The procedure is expensive, but there are several things you need to consider when you’re trying to weigh the costs.”

A Permanent Solution

Unlike some other hair restoration methods, a hair transplant is a permanent solution to hair loss. That is, hair that has been transplanted will continue to grow indefinitely.

“People sometimes think the procedure is going to be a waste of time and money if the hair is just going to fall out again later,” Alvarado says. “But it won’t – this hair is going to be with them for the rest of their lives.” When you consider the long-term benefits of this one-time procedure, he says, it’s easier to justify the costs associated with it.

While certainly there are other ways to slow hair loss or re-grow lost hair (Rogaine, prescription drugs, special combs, and so forth), all are limited in their ability to provide satisfactory long-term results. Medications and at-home treatments are only effective as long as they are in use. Once you stop purchasing and using these products, you will continue to experience hair loss. As an example of the potential costs of these products over time, one popular prescription medication ranges from $180 to $280 for just a 90-day supply.

The NeoGraft Advantage

According to Alvarado, NeoGraft represents a significant advance in hair transplantation technology. Simply put, he says, it’s the gold standard in hair restoration. The procedure is a variation on a hair follicle harvesting technique called follicular unit extraction (FUE), which offers excellent results with no linear scars, no sutures, and very little downtime.

While FUE, a minimally-invasive microsurgical procedure, has been available for some time, its time-consuming, tedious nature made it unattractive for doctors to perform and prohibitively expensive for most patients. With NeoGraft, however, FUE has been automated, resulting in a hair transplant procedure that is much simpler and less time-consuming, while still offering the benefits of FUE as compared to traditional “strip method” hair transplantation. This technological advance has also made FUE considerably more affordable.

Why Follicle Transplantation Group?

Beyond the cost savings made possible through the NeoGraft technology, Follicle Transplantation Group does everything possible to make the procedure affordable for clients. The average cost for hair transplantation using NeoGraft, Alvarado says, is between $7.50 and $12 per graft. As a relatively new clinic, Follicle Transplantation Group is offering a reduced, introductory rate. Furthermore, the nature of the NeoGraft procedure makes it possible to provide treatments in sessions rather than all at once.

“You can do what you can afford today,” Alvarado says, “and then come back when you’re ready to have more done. Unlike other types of hair transplants, you’ll never see any scarring.”

What kinds of non-surgical options are available for hair restoration? There are several, says Atlanta hair restoration expert Rob Alvarado of Follicle Transplantation Group. But very few offer permanent results. One relatively new transplantation method called NeoGraft, however, is the least invasive hair transplantation procedure available today, and it may be the best option for patients who are looking for a less traumatic way to experience permanent results. This exciting new procedure offers minimal discomfort, minimal downtime, and far fewer risks than traditional hair transplantation.

Here, Alvarado says, are some of the options for hair restoration and the pros and cons of each.

Prescription Drugs

There are several prescription drugs available today that can help to slow hair loss or even re-grow hair. However, says Alvarado, the results can only be maintained for as long as you continue to use the medication. Over time, this can become extremely expensive. And, like any pharmaceutical product, these medications are not without side effects.

Over-the-Counter Products

Once available only by prescription, Rogaine (also called monoxidil) can now be purchased at your local drugstore in a variety of forms. Rogaine can be a highly effective way to maintain or restore a youthful hairline. Like prescription drugs, however, Rogaine’s effectiveness lasts only as long as you continue to apply the product.  When you consider the cost of the product, used daily, over time, Rogaine becomes a very expensive option, even as compared to hair transplantation.

NeoGraft

For truly permanent results, Alvarado says, hair transplantation is really the only option. But now, thanks to NeoGraft, hair transplantation doesn’t have to be as traumatic as the hair transplant surgeries of the past.

As compared to traditional hair transplant surgery, NeoGraft is much less invasive, much more comfortable and just as effective, says Alvarado. While not a completely non-surgical procedure, NeoGraft transplantation is a microsurgical procedure performed with extreme precision under a surgical microscope.

The major differences between NeoGraft and traditional hair transplantation are related to the way the hair is harvested. Traditionally, hair is harvested in a “strip” from the back of the scalp. That is, a strip of skin, with hair follicles, is removed from the back of the head from ear to ear. Those hair follicles are then transplanted to the front of the head or wherever hair loss has occurred.

NeoGraft, however, does not rely on the removal of any skin. In fact, no scalpels are used at all. Instead, a special device is used to harvest very small follicular units from the most densely covered areas of the scalp. Because there is no cutting, the procedure involves less discomfort, no linear scar, less bleeding, and less risk of infection. The results, Alvarado says, are excellent. “NeoGraft has become the ‘gold standard’ of hair restoration,” he says, “and we’re proud to be the first hair restoration center in Atlanta to offer it.”

During Your Procedure

The NeoGraft procedure involves removing hair follicles from a donor site (where your remaining hair is thickest – usually the back of the head). A “punch” method, similar to a punch biopsy, is used to harvest the follicular units. These hair follicles are then implanted in the areas of the scalp where hair loss has occurred (usually the front and top sections of the head). The procedure itself involves minimal pain, and local anesthetics can be adjusted as needed to ensure comfort as the procedure is performed.

After Your Procedure

One advantages of NeoGraft over traditional hair transplant surgery is that the procedure involves little discomfort and very little downtime. After your procedure, Dr. Chambon says, you can expect to experience some minor soreness in the areas of the head where hair was harvested. You may also experience a light stinging, similar to a sunburn, in the areas where hair was implanted. While the procedure is done using a local anesthetic, the discomfort afterward shouldn’t last more than a day or two and isn’t enough to require prescription pain medication.

Aftercare is minimal, according to Dr. Chambon. If you wish, you can return to work the next day. Of course, very stressful activities (hard aerobic activity or very strenuous physical labor) should be avoided for awhile after the procedure. Dr. Chambon usually recommends waiting about two weeks before resuming these types of activities.

You will need to be careful, he says, when caring for the area where the hair has been implanted. For about a week after your procedure, you’ll want to “blot” shampoo the area and rinse lightly with a cup to avoid excess water pressure. The rest of your hair can be washed normally.

The Results

Immediately after the procedure, you’ll have an idea of what your final results will look like. “You can see where those hairs are going to grow in,” Dr. Chambon says. “You can definitely get a ‘visual’ right away.” Because of the way hair naturally grows, in cycles, your final results won’t be apparent for some time, just as would be the case after hair transplant surgery. However, after about six to nine months, you should be able to see how well the procedure has worked. And with any luck, you’ll walk away more than happy with the aftermath.

Are you a good candidate for NeoGraft? According to Gregory Chambon, MD, of Kansas City Neograft, there’s a good chance that you are. Dr. Chambon, whose clinic offers the NeoGraft hair transplant in Overland Park, Kansas, says that one of the advantages of this breakthrough hair restoration technology is that so many people can experience the benefits.

What It Is

NeoGraft, Dr. Chambon explains, is similar to hair transplant surgery in that it involves harvesting hair from a donor site (usually the back of the head) and relocating it to areas of the scalp where hair loss has occurred. Unlike the “strip method” of hair restoration, which relies on the surgical removal of scalp sections for transplantation, NeoGraft involves no scalpels, minimal downtime, and no horizontal scarring. Best of all, it offers exciting results.

When hair is harvested during the NeoGraft procedure, rather than removing a strip of scalp, the doctor performs random extraction of individual hair follicles from a donor site. This leaves plenty of hair behind in these areas–enough that the loss is not noticeable within two weeks of the procedure. As in hair transplant surgery, these harvested hair follicles are implanted in the areas of the scalp where hair has been lost. This is done in such a way as to mimic the patient’s natural hairline.

The entire procedure involves minimal pain, Dr. Chambon says, and requires very little downtime. Patients are usually a little bit sore in the area from which hair has been harvested and may experience a sensation similar to a sunburn in the area where hair has been implanted. Fortunately, any discomfort usually subsides fairly quickly–within a day or two at most.

Who Is a Candidate?

Nearly anyone can be treated with NeoGraft, Dr. Chambon says, as long as there is sufficient hair remaining to harvest. In men, because hair loss tends to occur on the top and front of the head first, hair is usually harvested from the area of the scalp where the remaining hair is fullest (usually the back). In women, because hair loss tends to occur as a general thinning, hair follicles may be harvested from several locations.

NeoGraft is perfect for patients who would like to wear their hair short. Traditional hair transplant surgery can leave behind linear, “smiley face” scars, but NeoGraft involves no scarring. NeoGraft can also benefit patients who are concerned about the potential impact of a strip method transplant on their range of movement.

Because each patient has different needs and concerns, Dr. Chambon offers free NeoGraft consultations at his Overland Park office. Dr. Chambon will assess the amount of coverage needed to provide the patient with the appearance he or she desires, and will let the patient know what he or she can expect from the NeoGraft procedure.

” We’re here to give you your confidence back and get you looking better than you have in years,” Dr. Chambon says. “Our free consultation will help you to understand whether NeoGraft is right for you.”

The reasons for this are fairly straightforward. As Dr. Glat explains, it is much more difficult for a physician to see light blonde or red hair when he is working on a patient. With follicular unit extraction (FUE) especially, a physician needs to be able to see the hair in order to extract it properly. Because of this, many physicians prefer working with patients who have darker hair when performing hair restoration surgery.

Patients with curly hair can present a problem to doctors as well, since curly hair tends to come out of the scalp at varying angles. Unlike straight hair, which comes out of the scalp at one angle, curly hair follows less of a uniform pattern. During a follicular unit extraction procedure, the goal should be for each and every hair that is taken out to be completely usable in the transplant. However, if a physician accidentally cuts through the hair at the wrong angle during the extraction process – which is more likely when the hairs are growing out of the scalp at different angles – then there is a higher likelihood that some of the hair will be unusable. Dr. Glat says that physicians who extract curly hair tend to waste more hair and time, even when they are being as accurate with their angles during the transfer process as possible.

Hair color and texture issues are taken into account with all of the patients Dr. Glat works with, including both men and women. Nonetheless, he emphasizes that today’s hair restoration procedures are perfectly safe for women as well as men. Furthermore, Dr. Glat insists that anyone who has realistic expectations about what can be achieved through hair restoration surgery can be considered a good candidate for the procedure, and he encourages hair loss sufferers in the area to visit his facility to learn the facts.

Dr. Glat says that the patients he works with at Sea Hair, his hair restoration clinic in Philadelphia, appreciate how much of a change they can achieve without the unpleasant scarring associated with the hair transplants of old. Many men and women in Philadelphia would have never considered hair restoration to be an option before are now looking into what NeoGraft technology can do for them.

What makes hair transplants with the NeoGraft technology different from previous versions of hair restoration surgery is that scarring is no longer an unavoidable side effect. In Philadelphia, Dr. Glat can now give patients the fuller heads of hair that they desire without having to create large scars in the donor areas at the backs of their scalps.

Because patients do not have to undergo general anesthesia before having hair restoration surgery, Dr. Glat says that just about anyone can be considered a good candidate. He treats both men and women, with ages ranging from teens to people in their 60s and 70s.

In the past, Dr. Glat says that many of these same people would not have been good candidates for other types of hair transplant procedures. The reason, he explains, is because many did not have ample hair in their donor areas. With follicular unit extraction, however, physicians like Dr. Glat can take out patients’ hair follicles one by one – eliminating the need to have enough hair in one specific part of the head to use as a singular donor site.

Although NeoGraft technology has been around for a number of years, it was not until recently that Dr. Glat began noticing such a demand for this type of hair restoration surgery at his Philadelphia practice. He credits this increased demand to recent improvements that have made the NeoGraft procedure with follicular unit extraction even easier for physicians to perform. At the same time, the NeoGraft procedure is also less painful for patients to undergo now than when it was first introduced.

The process by which physicians take out the individual hair follicles that are transplanted during a NeoGraft restoration procedure has recently become automated, which reduces the time that it takes a physician to do the extraction and lessens the pain that a patient will experience during the process. This has made the procedure far more appealing for those who otherwise would’ve shied away from hair restoration surgery and suffered the aesthetic consequences in the process.

And why not? As Dr. Glat explains, male pattern baldness is a condition that affects millions of men across the country. For years, many of these men had to choose between medicated treatment options that often proved ineffective, or highly-invasive surgical options that left telltale scars. Now, thanks to the NeoGraft technology, men and women of all ages can get fuller heads of hair without the drawbacks.

When a physician performs follicular unit extraction, he is moving hair from one place to another. Whereas other hair transplant techniques utilized by doctors once required large incisions to be made along the scalp, follicular unit extraction requires no such thing. With follicular unit extraction, physicians can retrieve individual hair follicles with an automated process that cuts down on the pain and eliminates the scarring. This is now considered the “gold standard” among all types of hair restoration procedures.

In addition to the fact that follicular unit extraction does not leave scars or major marks, Dr. Glat says that his patients are loving the new procedure because of how quickly it can be completed. When compared to the non-automated version of the surgery – where a physician must manually take out a few units at a time – the automated version of follicular unit extraction is much faster and far less time consuming than any of the other surgical options out there.

Dr. Glat says that one concern he hears frequently from patients is that they are worried about pain, needles, incisions, and scarring. All of these issues – along with the more common concerns associated with different types of surgery, such as bleeding, infection, scarring, and pain – are addressed and cut down quite significantly with this new procedure.

When a physician utilizes follicular unit extraction with NeoGraft, he is able to transfer individual hair follicles from one place to another without ever having to make a large scalp incision. This not only reduces the recovery time, but it lessens the potential for side effects and complications as well.

Thanks to the NeoGraft procedure, patients can enjoy speedier recovery times, a less painful process, and better results in almost every instance. Dr. Glat encourages anyone in Philadelphia who has sat idly by and dealt with uncomfortable male pattern baldness to come in for a consultation and learn more about the latest options in hair transplant technology.

The reality, Angelino explains, is that most people have the donor hair needed for a hair transplant procedure. Therefore, he continues, the best candidates for surgery are those with realistic expectations. A large part of the initial conversation between surgeon and patient is about making sure the patient is given enough information.

The ideal candidates for hair transplant surgery are also those who have done their research and know they will most likely need two procedures, because the donor area must be have enough hair to transplant. Some men come to Hairlab with thin hair all the way around their heads, and they are usually told that their donor areas are too thin. Angelino says that it is still possible to perform a procedure in this case, but the focus should be on one area of the head at a time. If the procedure is not possible because of thin hair, he explains, then lasers can also be used to thicken the donor area for awhile before the procedure is completed.

A popular misconception surrounding hair transplant treatments is that men and women are not equal candidates for hair transplant surgery. However, Angelino says, there is really no difference. While at Hairlab about 80% of clients are men, it does not mean that men make better candidates; it just lends to fact that men experience hair loss more frequently than women.

Who is not a good candidate for hair transplant surgery?

According to Angelino, the biggest restrictions for hair transplant surgery are those who have very poor donor areas. Additionally, he says, surgeons typically don’t like to work on younger men whose hair is just beginning to thin out in their early 20s. Many times, he says, these guys are thinning normally, but they want their 18-year-old hairlines back. While a surgeon may be able to offer that same look, it is not going to appear natural over time.

Above all else, Angelino says, the worst candidates for hair transplant surgery are people with unrealistic expectations. Whenever new patients come and ask if Hairlab can guarantee a particular result, they are told that there are no guarantees with cosmetic surgery. Angelino explains that at Hairlab, the main priority is always for patients to walk out the door satisfied, which requires a full understanding of what to expect when a hair transplant is completed.