Laser Hair Transplants
This technique is not performed by NHI.
This section is modified from The Logic of Follicular Unit Transplantation; for more information please read Laser Hair Transplantation: Is it Really State of the Art?)
In the public's mind, no single word in medicine evokes a stronger image of "state-of the art" than the word "Laser." The phrase "Laser Hair Transplantation" is no exception. But, when we begin to examine what lasers actually do to the skin, it is obvious that not only is the laser inappropriate for Follicular Unit Transplantation, but that it is actually detrimental in all hair transplantation surgery.
In other fields of medicine the laser's value lies in its properties of "selective photo-thermolysis" (this is the ability to destroy a specific target without injuring the surrounding tissue). In hair transplantation, there is no selective target; rather the laser is used purely as a destructive tool. It literally burns a recipient hole in the skin. The laser companies claim that the newest lasers can make a recipient site with little or no thermal burn to the surrounding tissue, but this is missing the whole point. That point is that no matter how precise the laser is, it is still making a hole by removing tissue, and is, therefore, a throwback to the old punch technique. This technique always leaves surface change and scarring.
Just to remind our web reader, removing tissue destroys blood vessels and 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. Essentially, the laser "loosens" the "snug fit" between the transplanted graft and recipient site, that should nourish it.
If a doctor needs to use a laser to decrease bleeding during surgery then he/she should learn better surgical techniques. When one wants to maximize the growth of a transplant, whether they are follicular units or any other type of grafts for that matter, maximizing the blood supply is of the utmost importance. Using lasers or any other device that interferes with this blood supply, will hamper healing and prevent maximum growth and should be avoided.
If a doctor promotes lasers as painless surgery then he is not telling you the truth. The lasers used in hair restoration surgery are extremely painful and must always be used in conjunction with anesthesia.
In sum, in hair restoration surgery, lasers now operate merely as non-selective, destructive instruments and we see no beneficial role for their use.
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