What Is No Touch Technique?
The latest “No Touch” technique refers to follicular units being extracted (FUE) and automatically inserted into a cylinder tube like device. It holds the follicular unit without damaging, then use it to insert the graft into recipient sites eliminating the human touch factor. This technique make the Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) more easier method than before, the most importent factor of this technique is its imporved and 100% satisfactory results.
What is Follicular Unit Extraction?
Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) is a method of obtaining donor hair for
Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT), where individual follicular units are harvested directly from the donor area, without the need for a linear incision. In this hair restoration procedure, a 1-mm punch is used to make a small circular incision in the skin around the upper part of the follicular unit, which is then extracted directly from the scalp.
Three-Step FUE
A significant advance in Follicular Unit Extraction has been the addition of “blunt” dissection to the original technique of “sharp” dissection followed by extraction. In this three-step technique, a sharp punch is used to score the epidermis (cut just the upper part of the skin) and then a dull punch is used to bluntly dissect (separate) the follicular unit grafts from the surrounding deeper dermis. The third step is the same, namely removing the follicular graft from the scalp using fine forceps.
At GHT Hair Transplant in Pakistan, we use a proprietary dissecting instrument that allows us to efficiently perform this 3-step technique with minimal transection. The instrument is positioned around the scored upper part of the follicle and allowing the surgeon to remove the entire follicular unit from the scalp. This new design was presented at the ISHRS meeting in 2005.
The advantage of this hair transplant technique over the original two-step process is that using a dull punch minimizes follicle transection (damage). As the blunt-tipped punch is advanced into the dermis, the follicles, which naturally separate deeper in the skin, are “gathered together” within the opening of the instrument, rather than risk the lower portions of the follicles being cut off. Another significant advantage of the new technique is that it increases the number of patients who are FOX positive and thus who are able to benefit from FUE.
The Advantages & disadvantages of Follicular Unit Extraction
Advantages
- No linear scar
- Important for those who wear their hair short
- Decreases healing time in the donor area
- Useful for those with a greater risk of donor scarring (Asians)
- Ideal for repairing donor scars that cannot be excised
- No limitations on strenuous exercise after the procedure
- Less post-op discomfort
- Provides an alternative when the scalp is too tight for a strip excision
- Extends the size of the donor area (but not necessarily the total number of grafts)
- Enables one to harvest finer hair from the nape of the neck to be used at the hairline or for eyebrows
- Makes it theoretically possible to harvest non-scalp hair
- ex. beard or body hair
- Most useful when a limited number of grafts are needed
Disadvantages
- Maximum follicular unit graft yield is lower than with FUT
- Greater patient variability in who are good candidates compared to FUT
- More difficult to capture the entire follicular unit
- Size of session is limited
- Requires multiple sessions to equal the size of a single FUT
- Takes longer to perform
- More expensive than FUT
- Problems of buried graftsThis technique can also be used to perform abody hair FUE hair transplant, allowing patients with bald or almost completely bald heads to expand their donor possibilities.
When can I go back to work?
Many patients are concerned how they will look immediately after the procedure and a few days later. Their main worry, is after how many days following the procedure they will be able to return to work without any visible signs. The photos below document a patient’s progress in the first ten days following hair transplant surgery.
The photos below will help you to understand better the FUE technique
Donor area during the procedure |
Donor area 10 days after the procedure |
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Donor area during the procedure |
Donor area 10 days after the procedure |
For more information on Hair Transplantation please feel free to Contact Us for free advice on your specific case.
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