Neograft Hair Restoration San Diego

Dr. Kolstad is proud to introduce the latest innovation in hair restoration, Advanced Follicular Unit Extraction (AFUE).  Our hair team uses the Neograft to remove hair grafts one at a time from the back of the head. Automated FUE represents a giant leap forward in hair restoration. Painful, disfiguring strip scars can be completely avoided when hair follicles are removed using the Neograft.

During a single session, our hair team can transplant up to 2,500 follicular grafts. A typical hair restoration FUE procedure takes around eight hours to complete. Data has demonstrated that after 12 months there’s up to a 90% hair growth/survival rate.

What is the NeoGraft hair restoration procedure?

Dr. Kolstad uses the NeoGraft system because it fully automates the FUE procedure. Here’s how it works.

The revolutionary NeoGraft system uses pneumatic controls to precisely extract the individual hair follicles. These follicles are not touched with scalpels but are instead moved down into the storage area of the system where they are lightly misted with a saline solution to keep them in good shape for transplantation. While in storage the follicular units are separated by size. It’s imperative to separate the single hair follicles from those with two or three hairs.
When transplanting the grafts, Dr. Kolstad and his hair team pay special attention to the direction the hair is growing so it blends in naturally with the adjacent hair.

Who is an ideal candidate for FUT hair transplantation?

This is mostly a matter of choice. The strip method creates a long incision scar on the back of the scalp, but it does remove up to 3,000 follicles for transplantation in just 45 – 60 minutes. The FUE method takes hours to remove up to 2,500 hair follicles. This makes FUE transplantation more expensive. Both methods deliver natural-looking results.

Advantages of Hair Transplant Grafts Using Neograft

Follicular unit grafting involves removing healthy hair follicles directly from the scalp and grafting them one-by-one into the thinning areas of the head. Dr. Kolstad creates a natural appearing hairline by placing the in the same angles and direction as the hair that was lost. FUE hair transplants are typically compared to the traditional strip (FUT) method. Here are some of the core advantages of our Neograft hair transplant in San Diego:

• Less painful during recovery period.

Stronger medicine can be provided but most patients require only nonnarcotic medicines.

• Minimal bleeding at donor site.

A pressure dressing is used to cover the donor site for only 24-48 hours.

• Quick Recovery.

Due to the extremely small size of the incisions on the scalp, Neograft FUE has significantly faster recovery compared to strip methods. Most patients return to work in 7 days and within 10-14 days the donor and recipient sites have minimal signs of hair  transplant surgery.

• Less invasive.

• No nerve numbness.

• No Linear Scars.

The primary limitation of strip hair transplants is the long, damaging scar left on the posterior scalp. Even in the best closures, a thin, curvilinear line will always be present. After a Neograft procedure shaving the head is no longer an option without the stigmata of a  strip scar.

During an FUE procedure, our team uses specialized mechanical instruments to extract follicular grafts from the back of the head. Grafts are removed one-at-a-time and placed one-at-a-time. Extraction sites have a diameter of just 0.8 to 1 millimeters compared to a strip measuring 2 x 8 inches.

Disadvantages of San Diego FUE Hair Transplants

• Neograft hair transplant tends to be more expensive.

FUT can be performed using basic microscopes. Using the most advanced technology in FUE hair restoration requires additional hardware expenditures.

• The same number of grafts takes longer to extract and place.

A strip can be removed in a matter of minutes. Extracting follicles one at a time takes a full morning.

• More demanding on the skill and time of the surgeon.

• Cannot perform megasessions (>4,000 grafts) compared to FUT.

• Potential for small circular scars from excisional punch.

• Neograft requires more sessions to treat female pattern baldness than FUT.

Call Today For NeoGraft Hair Transplant Consultation

How It Works

For many patients looking to restore a youthful hairline a session of 2,000 – 3,000 grafts is recommended. If temporal loss is the only area being treated sometimes smaller sessions of 1,000 to 1,500 grafts can get the job done. Restoring the crown or vertex typically requires 2,000 to 4,000 grafts.
The process begins with Dr. Kolstad marking your hairline indicating the placement and orientation the grafts will be placed. The donor site area on the back of the scalp is trimmed very close to the skin. Using a wide area on the back and sides of the scalp allows hair follicles to be removed without thinning of the donor area.

Within one week the hair on the donor site will have grown long enough to camouflage the extraction sites. The inserted grafts will likely have crusting present for 10-14 days but they are easily covered by the surrounding hair.

The beauty (and frustrating) part of hair restoration is that results grow in naturally and gradually over the next twelve months. After hair transplant procedures the hair follicle goes to sleep for a period of 90 days. A dormant hair follicle is in the ‘ telogen’ stage and remains without a visible hair shaft. After three months the hair follicle will become active sprouting small, thin hair shafts (anagen phase). It takes at least six months for these baby hairs to become visible and around twelve months for meaningful growth.

Because the hairs grow slowly throughout the year most of our patients do not draw unwanted attention. Think about it, if you were to show up to work on a Monday with a full head of hair it would be difficult to pass it off as natural growth. Slow, incremental growth patterns are always preferable leading to imperceptible hair restoration.

What is recovery like with the strip method?

The main aspect of your recovery with the strip FUT method is the healing of your incision across the back of your scalp. This can be initially pretty painful and will take a few weeks to fully heal. Your stitches will be removed in 10 days or so. With the FUT method, you’ll never be able to shave your head, as the scar will be visible. It is easily masked going forward as long as you keep your hair at one inch or longer.

Schedule A Consultation

To learn more about NeoGraft hair restoration in San Diego, California, contact us today at (858) 859-2563. We serve San Diego, CA, and the surrounding areas.

Creating A Full And Elegant Hairline May Be Easier Than You Think.