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| Hair Transplant Procedure |
For some people, the word laser surgery is synonymous with the word "state-of-the-art". With laser surgery permeating almost any branch of surgery it is not very uncommon to think so. Though laser surgery has shown much promise in other branches of surgery the scene with hair transplant surgery is entirely different.
Not only is laser hair transplant inappropriate for Follicular Unit Transplantation, it is actually detrimental even with different modification of procedure and use of different laser hair settings. Let’s see the rationale behind the difference between hair transplant surgeries and other surgeries where the use of laser has been of much advantage.
The value of laser surgery lies in its properties of "selective photo-thermolysis" (this is the ability to destroy a specific target without injuring the surrounding tissue). Hair transplant surgery is different in this regard from other surgeries because of the lack of a target tissue. And when one is using laser hair transplant surgery for channel creation for inserting the grafts, it is actually making use of destructive properties of the laser. The laser hair restoration surgery literally burns a recipient hole in the skin. The tall claims made by laser companies for a new class of laser causing no thermal damage, is anything but true. Regardless of the source and the type, a laser is something which causes thermal damage to the tissue by its high energy. The laser hair restoration technique always leaves surface change and scarring. Not only this, high energy laser beams used for laser hair transplant may damage hairs existing near the implant site because of burning of the surrounding tissue. But at the same time it is important to keep in mind the use of laser for hair removal is a different case altogether. Since here the destructive property of laser is put to use, it can be a good option being painless and fast.
There is another drawback of laser hair transplant surgery which is more critical. The high energy of laser beam leads to the closing of the blood vessels. This characteristic feature of the laser beam is useful in other type of surgery where it helps to close wounds and provides quick healing. But in case of hair transplant surgery, blood supply is very crucial for nourishing the grafts after they are transplanted. And this is the main concern about a laser hair transplant surgery. Laser assisted transplants either are not able to grow or heal more slowly to have unpredictable growth due to impaired blood flow.
The thermal damage caused by the laser hair restoration to the surrounding tissue destroys the collagen and weakens the elastic support around the newly transplanted grafts. It also increases the coagulum (clot) around the graft which, in turn, decreases oxygen perfusion and retards healing. The uniformly created channels created by laser hair transplant surgery lose all its promise when the laser "loosens" the "snug fit" between the transplanted graft and recipient site. And this is the reason why laser hair restoration results in unpredicted and slow growth of the hair follicle.
The advantage of laser towards decreasing bleeding at the recipient site is also not of much use in case of hair transplantation surgery. A hair transplantation surgeon can decrease bleeding by the use of precision instruments and better hair transplant procedures more effectively than using a laser beam.
Regardless the hair transplant procedure a hair transplant doctor uses, maximizing the growth of a transplant is the one and only aim of any hair transplant surgery. And whatever is the type of implanted graft, whether it is a single follicular units or a group of follicular units, restoring the blood supply to the graft is of utmost importance. And since the laser hair transplant surgery fails to accomplish the vital function of restoring the blood flow, it is to be simply ignored as a hair transplant procedure.
There are many hair transplant centers which boast of laser hair transplant as a painless procedure or as a fast process for hair transplant surgery, are to be totally dismissed. This is an important piece of information which can save you from a fraudulent hair transplant center if you are planning to have a hair transplant surgery done.
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