This resulted in unsightly hairlines often referred to as “rows of corn” or “doll’s head”.
Then it was found that hair grows in groups of 1-3 or 4 hairs. These naturally occurring groups of hairs are called follicular units. The follicular units are removed from the donor area and then transplanted into the thinning areas to produce results that come close to replicating nature’s own. Because large numbers of follicular units can be transplanted at one time, many patients can achieve their desired density with one or two procedures.
There are two methods of harvesting follicular units from the donor area. The “gold standard” of obtaining donor hair is by removing a narrow strip of hair and separating out the follicular units under direct vision using a stereoscopic microscope. The area is then sutured closed using an advanced plastic surgical technique called trichophytic closure that is most likely to leave a fine linear scar. This technique is referred to as Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT).
The other method, Follicular Unit Excision (FUE), differs in that the follicular units are removed individually using a fine circular instrument resulting in hundreds or thousands of small round holes that heal by themselves leaving very small scars. Dr. Cohen exclusively uses the ARTAS® Robotic Hair Restoration System for FUE.
These results are natural because by transplanting follicular units the surgeon is copying nature, hair for hair.
