NeoGraft® Automated Hair-Transplantation System for Women
Although usually thought of as a condition affecting men, hair loss is also a problem for many women. Women’s hair loss can be the result of aging, heredity, medications or an underlying medical condition. It can take the form of pattern baldness, patchy spots or thinning hair, and can begin at any age.
Women with hair loss may benefit from the NeoGraft® Automated Hair-Transplantation System, which uses an innovative technique that makes hair transplantation less painful, and reduces post-procedure recovery time.
The NeoGraft system involves harvesting hair follicles for targeted placement in another area of the scalp. Once transplanted, the healthy follicles produce hair that should continue to grow for the rest of the patient’s life.
Candidates For The NeoGraft Hair-Transplantation System
A women with even hair loss all over her head is not an ideal candidate for the NeoGraft system, because she may not have enough high-quality hair for transfer. Transferring thinning, problematic hair from one site to another usually does not work because the hair will not grow any better in the new location. Therefore, a women who benefits most from NeoGraft hair transplantation has healthy areas of hair.
Ideal female candidates for NeoGraft hair transplantation include those with the following:
- Traction alopecia
- Hair loss from trauma
- Patches of thinning hair or bald spots
- A donor area not affected by androgenetic alopecia (male-pattern baldness)
Other good candidates include women who have had cosmetic surgery, and want to replace hair that has been lost around the incision sites.
The NeoGraft Hair-Transplantation Procedure
NeoGraft hair transplantation is gentler and less painful than traditional hair transplantation, which involves removing a large strip of hair and skin, and greatly reduces the risk of scarring. The NeoGraft system involves using follicular unit extraction (FUE), a surgical procedure in which hair is transplanted in individual follicular units. Each unit consists of one to four hairs that have been extracted from the donor area for placement in areas that need hair. The hair follicles are removed and placed using pneumatic pressure, which eliminates follicle-damaging pulling and twisting. The procedure is performed using local anesthesia.
Advantages Of The NeoGraft Hair-Transplantation System
Advantages of using the NeoGraft system rather than traditional methods that remove a large strip of hair include the following:
- Quicker, easier recovery
- Sutures are not necessary
- There is no linear scar from the harvest area
Another advantage is that the complications (bleeding, or damage to the nerves and blood vessels) associated with the “strip” method are rare.
Results Of The NeoGraft Hair-Transplantation System
According to system manufacturer NeoGraft Solutions, Inc., “Once the hair follicle has been implanted into the balding area, the grafted hair will stay in place for about 2 to 3 weeks before shedding. After shedding, the new growth will begin in 3 to 4 months; this is normal, and an important part of the new-hair growth process. After that time period, the hair will continue to grow normally.” Although results of the procedure should last for the patient’s lifetime, because hair loss continues post-transplant, maintenance treatments, including additional transplants and/or drugs that prevent hair loss, may be necessary.
