Scarless Procedure?

Posted on by Anderson Center for Hair

Q: I recently saw an ad about a scarless hair transplant.  Is this true, and if so, why don’t you hear about more people opting for this procedure?

A:  The procedure you’re referring to is called FUE (follicular unit excision) in which hair follicles are extracted from the scalp one at a time.  At the Anderson Hair Sciences Center, we use the ARTAS® system robot to extract the follicles, versus the Neograft (a hand-held excision tool) used in many other practices.  An FUE transplant generally has a tendency to be more costly as well, thus another reason many patients are still opting for the linear (strip) method.

In addition, the main advantage of the FUE transplant is the absence of the linear scar on the back of your head.  Some patients who often wear their hair at a slightly longer length don’t mind the linear scar given that the scar will be almost undetectable (if performed by a surgeon with extensive experience) once fully healed.  The FUE technique provides patients who want the choice to be versatile with their hair styles an option of having miniscule scars scattered throughout the donor area (back of the head) and therefore be a lot less noticeable. 

Moreover, the word “scarless” when it comes to hair transplantation can be very misleading because any time you’re cutting skin or scalp, (no matter how small the instrument/device) some scarring will be left behind, even though the small scars would be the least detectable. However, if too many follicles are extracted from the donor area (over harvesting), smaller scars can come together, resulting in bigger, more visible scars.

Dr. Ken Anderson, M.D. and his practice were the first in GA to offer FUE strictly by means of the ARTAS® robot. 

To determine if you’re a candidate for the ARTAS® robotic hair restoration surgery, please contact our office at 404-256-4247 or email info@andersonhsc.com to schedule a complimentary consultation with Dr. Anderson.  We’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have about our hair restoration procedures, as well as non-surgical treatments.