Hair Transplant Advances Made

In the world of hair transplants a surgeon called Robert Bernstein has come forward with a pioneering new hair-transplant procedure that could revolutionise the way a hair transplant is done. He and his professional colleague Doctor Rassman recently explained how the new procedure and instruments work.

Follicular Unit Extraction as the procedure is called, works by a removing each follicular unit individually from the head. In the old hair transplant operations the surgeon would cut a strip of tissue from the rear of the head and place it under a magnifying glass so that the follicles could be removed.

The new FUE instrument that had been designed is a blunt tool that stops any injury to individual hair follicles when they are being extracted. The instrument is a redesign of old hair transplant tools and is more efficient and less likely to harm the hair. It is shaped like a cylinder with a bull nosed ending that enables the surgeons to graft the whole follicular unit without harming the hair roots. Using this tool lowered the chances of getting buried grafts from nearly ten percent to around two percent according to Doctor Bernstein's calculations.

Doctor Bernstein is the author of the the paper Follicular Transplantation which is about a hair restoration method that means hair is transplanted precisely as it grows i.e. in follicular units. That previously published paper explained some of the new advances of hair transplant procedures seen today. In the past a hair transplant often involved a surgery that meant you ended up with plugs similar to doll's hair. Today the procedures are more sophisticated and natural hair patterns can be created.

Recent surveys said that more than 360,000 people in the United States went to the doctor to get hair loss advice in 2005 and the amount of men and women opting for transplants is on the rise.