Hair loss can be very damaging to the confidence and self-esteem of both men and women. Many people who have older family members who have suffered hair loss through by genetics or by aging know that we are likely to experience it ourselves.
“Male pattern baldness runs in my family. My father and two brothers lost their hair at an early age. Byabout 50, I had lost half the hair on the top of my head. I get sick to my stomach every morning as I try harder and harder to cover up my thinning areas on my head”, reports a patient.
“No matter how many times my wife tells me I am handsome and she loves me, for me it is just more than that. It bothers me. I wish it didn’t”, reports another.
Going bald affects 40 million men and 21 million women. Two-thirds of men have some degree of perceptible hair loss by age 35.By age 50, it rises to 75% who have substantial hair loss. Women can also have hair loss ranging from small areas to more widespread areas.
The bottom line, is that there is no cure for hair loss. Drugs are currently available which arrest hair loss for a number of years but unfortunately do not reverse hair loss.
One choice is to accept your hair loss. Thanks to new technology and advances in hair restoration science, there is a now a second choice. Dr. Lawrence Gray and Dr. Mark Ballentyne of Atlantic Plastic Surgery Center have added the advanced Neograft Hair Restoration System to the cosmetic enhancements available to their patients.
This hair restoration treatment restores full, thick hair with less downtime than conventional strip methods. Patients can enjoy impressive cosmetic results without obvious scarring.
For years, going under the knife, “plugs”, and toupees were the most popular hair restoration methods. The older method used a scalpel and involved removing a large strip of skin from back and hair leaving noticeable scar.
“Neograft is a procedure that’s performed under local anesthesia. It uses a follicular unit extraction device, or F.U.E., which collects donor follicles from an area of thick hair growth, most often the back of the head, and then transplants them to an area where hair is balding now but originally grew. This extraction device uses controlled pneumatic pressure to gently remove the follicles one at a time.The F.U.E. method keeps each follicle in tact and improves patient comfort”, Dr. Mark Ballentyne reports.
“Performed under local anesthesia, Neograft enables us to harvest follicles quickly and with accuracy”, states Dr. Lawrence Gray, Medical Director at Atlantic Plastic Surgery Center. “The Neograft hand piece allows us to gently remove individual follicles without cutting the skin or leaving a long scar as you will see with the more traditional methods of hair transplantation.Once hair grows back no one will know you had a hair transplant procedure.”
A small section can be treated in one sitting or large areas can be transplanted in one session reducing the need for additional procedures and the overall cost of restoring one’s hair. Neograft provides fast recovery time with patients able to return to work the next day. Patients walk out on their own just a few hours later.
One of the main benefits of follicular unit extraction, aside from the undetectability of the donor area is how fast the patient heals. Because there is no scalpel and no stiches you can heal in just five days.
Another significant benefit is that hair follicles spend less time outside of the body, increasing the viability of the hairs and the likelihood of success. The implanted hair follicles then produce normal growth several months after the procedure. Full growth usually takes about one year, but some patients see some growth in just a few months.
Dr. Gray or Dr. Ballentyne consult with the patient first to determine if the patient is an appropriate candidate. The best candidates are those who have on-going, predictable hair loss due to genetics. Patients also need to have good coverage at the donor site. A patient may not be suitable if their hair loss pattern is not yet established, meaning it would be too soon for a transplant. Men in their mid-thirties and older, when the hair loss pattern is established are more suitable than those in their 20s.
Patients should understand first that Neograft is not able to restore hair to the original fullness they had 10 to 20 years ago, but it can give the patient significant improvement. Neograft-transplanted follicles continue to grow normally. Secondly, patients need to understand that the Neograft procedure does not prevent future loss. Some patients choose to undergo a further treatment in the future while some patients are able to maintain their results with hair restoration products such as Rogaine or light therapy.
“We have seen remarkable results with the Neograft system”, says Dr. Mark Ballentyne. “Patients love the results and that it doesn’t leave a scar. Even men and women who want to wear their hair short can without worrying about visible scarring.”