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Follicular Unit Extraction With NeoGraft

Follicular unit extraction (FUE) is a method for harvesting hair follicles during hair transplant surgery. Double board-certified facial plastic surgeon Dr. Haresh Yalamanchili offers this exciting, new, advanced technique to qualified hair transplant patients in Houston, TX.

Dr. Yalamanchili can help restore your hairline. To learn about your hair replacement options in Houston, request a consultation at the Belage Center or call to schedule an appointment.

How It Works

Hair naturally grows in clusters of 1 to 4 hairs called follicular units. When harvesting hair follicles with the FUE method, Dr. Yalamanchili collects these individual follicular units directly from the scalp one at a time. The sites for the tiny FUE donor grafts, which are at most 1 millimeter in length, do not require stitches and heal quickly on their own. There is no long, linear scar that is seen with the traditional “strip method,” technically called follicular unit transplantation (FUT).

However, because it is such a meticulous method, FUE is fairly time-intensive compared with the FUT technique, in which a strip of skin containing many units to be transplanted is removed with a single incision.

For FUE transplants, Dr. Yalamanchili uses a revolutionary new technology called NeoGraft™ to help him craft the best results for his patients. The NeoGraft device is an automated system that relies on air pressure to gently extract follicular units from the scalp. The device offers the added benefit of protecting the individual follicular grafts during the delicate transfer process. Learn more about why you should choose Dr. Yalamanchili for your NeoGraft hair restoration procedure.

NeoGraft® Hair Transplant Before & After Photos
Before	After
Before	After

Is NeoGraft Right for Me?

While NeoGraft is a popular hair replacement technique, it is not necessarily the optimal choice for every patient. During your consultation, Dr. Yalamanchili will determine whether FUE with Neograft is the best option for you. Together, you’ll go over the advantages and disadvantages of the FUE technique compared with the FUT method, which includes:

Advantages

• Minimal discomfort and recovery time
• No incision line, stitches, or resulting scar so patients can always keep the option of wearing their hair very short
• Reduced risk of complications

Disadvantages

• More time-consuming
• May require multiple sessions for ideal coverage
• Requires the donor hair to be trimmed very short in a large area (typically at the back of the head) to more precisely harvest the hair grafts

What to Expect During a NeoGraft Hair Transplant

Dr. Yalamanchili performs both FUE and FUT hair transplant surgeries as office procedures. Depending on the extent of the procedure and the number of grafts, an FUE transplant can take up to 8 hours or more to complete. However, we ensure that you are comfortable at all times and offer a variety of entertainment options to help you pass the time. During the procedure, you may be seated, lying face down, or on your side. The donor and transplant sites of the scalp are numbed with a local anesthetic. Next, the hair in the donor area is shaved, either completely or in strips that can be covered with the adjacent hair.

Then, the grafts are harvested using the special NeoGraft tool, which removes a tiny circular area of the scalp containing a follicular unit. The grafts remain in the NeoGraft handpiece for safe protection. These grafts are then carefully transplanted into the balding areas of concern one at a time. One of the most important aspects in ensuring a successful result in our practice is Dr. Yalamanchili’s meticulous and unyielding attention to detail at every single step. He carefully considers the aesthetics and angle of each graft in order to create the most attractive, natural-looking results. He skillfully matches the direction of hair growth, hair texture, and other factors when restoring your hair. All of these important subtleties are what allows us the ability to provide you with a natural-looking, fuller head of hair.

Recovery

After FUE hair transplant surgery, it’s common to have swelling and redness in the grafted areas. Patients typically feel ready to go out in public within 5 to 10 days, depending on how long the rest of their hair is, how many grafts were made, and how quickly the redness subsides. The small scabs on the donor sites usually heal within a week and do not leave a scar behind like the linear incision from the traditional strip (FUT) method. An additional advantage of the FUE technique with NeoGraft is your ability to return to regular activities much more quickly than with the traditional strip (FUT) method.

It’s important to understand that the transplanted hair will naturally fall out within approximately 2 to 3 weeks. This is an expected part of the process. Most of the hair will begin to grow back within approximately 3 or 4 months as part of the natural growth cycle. However, it takes up to one year for the final results to show as the hair continues to get thicker over that time.