Hair Transplant Surgery - Scientific Papers

OPTIMIZING EACH SESSION
Dr. Antonio Ruston

Introduction: With advances in hair transplant treatments such as megasessions and ultrasessions, it is now possible to transplant a very large number of grafts in each session. Sometimes, it is even possible to resolve a/ case in just one session (less advanced baldness). However, in most cases (more advanced baldness), more than one session is needed to obtain density. At the same time, it is essential to create a natural result after the first session, even if this signifies less density. The key to achieving this is knowing how to distribute the grafts in the recipient area correctly.

Objective: In this presentation, the author will show how he distributes grafts in order to create a natural looking result after each session. He will also discuss why he doesn’t agree with the practice of transplanting to only one part of the recipient area per session.

Materials and/or Methods: The author will show alternatives which improve naturalness after the first session even in cases where a second or third session will be necessary. These strategies include: modifying placement angle, the cascade effect, distribution, mapping priority zones, etc. He will show case studies to demonstrate how these techniques should be used.

Discussion/Results: Because of the Brazilian economic situation, many patients in this country are unable to plan on having a second or third session. For this reason, it has been necessary to develop techniques to create the most natural looking results in one session (with less density) even when an additional session may be desirable. Results obtained over the last five years have demonstrated that it is possible to create a natural appearance with less density.

Conclusion: Even when a patient plans to have more than one session, it is still desirable to offer the most attractive and natural results after every session. Therefore, the surgeon should always be concerned with optimizing each session.