Latest Hair Loss Treatment: Robotic Hair Transplant

Things to Consider in Choosing Your Hair Loss Treatment

When we find our locks to be under a certain

crisis or experiencing a poor state of health,

we just want to get the easiest solution we

can find. When it comes to hair loss, the type

of treatment that you should be looking for

must be one that is most suitable for you.

Each case for hair loss is different, although

there may be some similarities, but each

person has their unique response that is why

treatments should also fit accordingly. This is

important so that you can be sure that your

condition will improve.

There have been a number of cases where hair

loss patients have been misdiagnosed. As a

result, they end up taking the wrong

medications for many years without any sign

of improvement. Usually this would always

HAIR TRANSPLANT QUOTES “I’m a man and I will beat up anybody who tries to tell me that I am not a man just because my hair is thinning.” – Bruce Willis

come in the form of a pharmaceutical

treatment. But what is more heart breaking is

that aside from the benefit that you are

supposed to get, you are also exposed to the

accompanying side effects.

When you get stricken with excessive hair loss,

it is wise to immediately get medical advice to

prevent it from worsening. But when you do, it

is just as important that you also go the expert.

This person should be a certified doctor who

have specialized on hair and hair problems.

According to an article that was published in

the journal Dermatology Times in 2000, a full

evaluation of the patient’s hair loss prevents

misdiagnosis. This means that a thorough

medical evaluation should consist of personal

history, endocrine disorders, family history of

the disease, and physical examination.

“Hair restoration may be the

most important self-improvement

decision of your life.” ~ Dr.

Andrew Kim

When it comes to hair loss, the type of treatment that you should be

looking for must be one that is most suitable for you.

A lot of hair loss victims have been voicing their

frustrations online and sharing their stories of

how they have been misdiagnosed. One

example was a 25-year-old woman who

suffered from excessive hair loss; she was

diagnosed to have alopecia areata. But despite

years of treatment, from steroid injections to

topical medications, her condition was still not

improving.

On a similar note, there are also some patients

who were misdiagnosed about a certain

condition, were prescribed a certain medication

and ended up losing their hair. Usually this

occurs to those who were poorly diagnosed to

have thyroid problems.

Rightdiagnosis.com enumerated an alternative

diagnosis list of conditions which includes

chemical trauma, physical trauma, lichen

planopilaris, Herpes Zoster, scleroderma, fungal

infection, bacterial infection, SLE, iron

deficiency anemia, hyperthyroidism,

hypothyroidism, alopecia areata, androgenetic

alopecia, and pituitary insufficiency.

There are also certain rare types of hair loss

that are often misdiagnosed such as

Trichotillomania, Centrifugal Cicatricial hair loss,

folliculitis decalvans, and many others. Also,

they add that there is a higher rate of

misdiagnosis among African Americans.

So you see, there should be an extensive

evaluation so that you don’t waste your

chances of saving what hair you have left. It

may help to ask friends or family who are also

suffering the same condition what their

treatment are, although it may not necessarily

apply to you. With that, you should know that

hair loss treatments depend on a case to case

basis.

Robotic Hair Transplant vs.

Stem Cell Hair Loss Therapy

Hair loss is a very rampant problem in men

today. In fact statistics show that balding may

already start around the age of 35 and with 85%

of hair loss victims going totally bald or

experiencing severe hair thinning at the age of

50. However, hair transplant technologies are

also catching up to this demand and with the

advancement of the times.

Cutting edge technologies introduces hair loss

patients to a number of options and this

includes robotic hair transplant and stem cell

hair loss therapy. Being one of the latest to be

added to the roster of hair restoration

procedures, consumers want to know which one

holds a better advantage.

Robotic Hair Transplant

The one responsible for developing this

automated machine that performs hair

transplant surgery is a company called

Restoration Robotics which was founded by Dr.

Frederick H. Moll. This is more popularly known

as the ARTAS System which performs the

scoring process in FUE (Follicular Unit

Extraction) approach.

The ARTAS system is equipped with an easy

user interface, a video imaging system, a needle

punch mechanism, disposable dermal punches,

and disposable cartridges. The machine is

programmed to cut through at a specific and

uniform depth with the use of its double punch

extraction technique. In order to lessen the

transection rate, the machine has a large bore

needle used for scoring, specifically 1.65mm in

diameter.

BEFORE & AFTER PHOTOS:

www.aihr.com.au

With over 10 years’

experience in all

areas of Hair

Restoration Surgery

Member of Korean

Society of Aesthetic

Surgery

Prince of Wales

Hospital Plastic

Surgery Department,

Resident

“I provide detailed and

comprehensive information on

the procedure performed at my

clinic so that patients can fully

consider their hair restoration

options."

Balding start around the age of 35 and with 85% of hair loss victims going totally bald or experiencing severe

hair thinning at the age of 50.

There are surgeons who are claiming that a

robot is not equipped with the right call of

judgment and discerning eye that an

experienced surgeon has. The machine can

be programmed to automatic and have it

do its work creating a hundred punches

within a small section of the scalp. Only

after this would the surgeon is able to

check the transection rate. But the problem

here is that it could continue doing the

punches before the surgeon even realizes

the damage.

Another concern raised with the ARTAS is

that the large bore needle creates larger

wounds resulting to bigger scars compared

to the traditional FUE. Adding to this it

could transect through other surrounding

hair follicles.

However the overall result and rating of

the ARTAS system allowed it to earn FDA

clearance to restore hair in men affected

with androgenetic alopecia.

Stem Cell Hair Loss

Therapy

This hair loss treatment is still being

looked into by experts. It has already been

proven to be an effective treatment for hair

loss in mice, but today the phase 2 of the

study which is done on men and women

has just been launched by the Aderans

Research Institute (ARI).

It aims to determine the regenerative

treatment that stem cell has on male and

female pattern hair loss. By taking the

primary cell types from the hair follicles

using PRP (platelet rich plasma) method, it

is then grown in a controlled laboratory

setting before they are introduced into the

patient’s skin where they are observed to

generate hair growth.

To promote the migration of these injected

stem cells into the affected area, laser

treatment is directed over it.

The procedure is performed once and

could be over in just an hour, although

there may be some slight discomfort

experienced immediately afterwards.

The limitation here is that this treatment is

restricted to male/female pattern baldness

or androgenetic alopecia. But further

studies are still being made on how to

regenerate hair growth despite the cause

on why they shed off.

Which is better?

Robotic hair transplant and Stem cell

therapy are most certainly new age

treatments. ARTAS uses an invasive

approach in restoring hair loss while stem

cell therapy employs a more conservative

approach. Robotic hair transplant is already

used commercially by a number of clinics;

meanwhile stem cell therapy is still in its

experimental stages. But if proven to be

effective, this can be a valuable solution

however it is expected to be more

expensive than ARTAS.

If you base it on aesthetics stem cell

therapy could produce better outcome

because it eliminates scarring. Also it

eliminates the need of removing hair from

donor sites, as new ones can be grown in

the laboratory setting. But probable

patients should be ready to shell some

money if they really want to grow back hair

this way.

Is Robotics the Future for Hair Transplants?

It comes as no surprise when you hear

that robots are taking over surgical

procedures that used to require very fine

tuned techniques, such as hair transplants.

With the advancements in technology and

the need to find better ways to improve

the process of surgical hair restoration,

robots can now make the process better

and more efficient. But can it really be the

future for this highly sensitive procedure?

From doing butler work to heart surgery,

another area that robots can be trusted to

do is hair transplant. Thanks to the

creative minds at Restoration Robotics Inc.

They found the improvement that it is

able to provide with FUE or Follicular Unit

Extraction.

FUE is just one approach in surgical hair

restoration, with FUT or Follicular Unit

Transplantation being the original

method. The reason why the former is

much favored by many hair transplant

patients is because it provides better

aesthetic results.

The automation of the procedure was for

the purpose of improving the approach. It

can increase the accuracy of harvesting

the follicles while preventing damage at

the same time. It also significantly reduces

the time, and increases graft survival,

which are pretty much the biggest issues

with FUE.

Due to the lengthy process of the

procedure with the surgeon having to

painstakingly remove the donor hairs one

by one, the chance for human error is

significant. This can be a cause for

concern because there are not that many

hairs to begin with.

The good thing with the robot is that it is

equipped with an image-guided system

that has a robotic arm, a video imaging

system, dual needle punch system, a user

interface and disposable cartridges. The

double punch technique minimizes the

trauma created on the surrounding area

of the hair graft and the follicle itself

improving better graft survival.