In our opinion, the NeoGraft technology that we use for our FUE (follicular unit extraction) hair transplants has a lot of benefits over the older method of FUT (follicular unit transplant) procedure, also known as the “strip method”.
One of the greatest advantages about the NeoGraft FUE technology is that it doesn’t leave any linear scars (like the strip method), but it also can be used to repair scars from before!
NeoGraft FUE technology can be used to remove old scar tissue or “core out” scar tissue using the technology the same way we would when harvesting follicles from the donor area. This procedure is done by using a one-millimetre punch that removes small areas that will easily heal within the larger area of the scar, therefore making the scar smaller.
Once the coring process has been completed, we then check the area for blood flow using a needle. The area is still “numb” from the local anaesthetic that we use in the scalp while doing a hair transplant. So the patient will feel no pain from this. As long as there is still blood flow in the area of the scar, we can transplant follicles into this area after we have cored it out. Hair will most likely grow in from this area again.
For some patients, the area of the scar will not have any blood flow and is made up of nothing but hard scar tissue. In these cases, this procedure will still work to at least make the scar a little less noticeable by shrinking it down after it heals from the one-millimetre punches that have been taken out.
Most patients will be fortunate enough that we will be able to find an area with good blood flow that is either directly in the scar or at least in the area immediately surrounding the scar, and we can successfully transplant follicles into this area. In these cases, the hair that is transplanted will not grow in at the same time as the rest of the hair in the donor area. In fact, it will take up to 3 months or more before you start to see these hairs grow back in and cover up the scar.
Not unlike everything else that goes along with the hair transplant and hair restoration industry, patience is always the key. Looking for immediate results is never really an option. But the results almost always seem well worth the wait once they start to show themselves. What seemed like forever is now just the start of a long life with the end result of a long process that is worth every minute and penny!
