Ever since hair transplantation was introduced it has been evolving and it has continued to do so. But what is the latest hair transplant technique? We take a closer look at longitudinal partial follicular unit transplantation (PLFUT).
History Of Hair Transplantation
Dr. Norman Orentreich performed the world’s first hair transplant in 1952, in New York. It took a while for the medical community to accept his submissions but his work was published in 1959. That original paper gave us the term ‘donor dominance’ to describe how hair follicles would retain their characteristics even when relocated.
Dr. Orentreich used huge grafts, which offered little or no hope of a cosmetically sound outcome. So he was also responsible for the early description of them as ‘plugs.’
A leap forward was made in 1984. ‘Mini grafting’ became the new standard, using strips of donor tissue instead of the plugs. Then ‘micro-grafts’ were introduced, and used in conjunction with the mini-grafting. The story of the next decade would be ever smaller grafts.
FUT & FUE
Follicular Unit Transplantation to give it its proper name, came along in 1995. In Los Angeles, Drs. Bernstein and Rassman began extracting naturally occurring groups of follicles of between 1 and 4 follicles each. 8 years later they would also take Orentreich’s technique to new heights with FUE. FUE involved making small circular incisions to remove follicular units. This treatment, these days, is delivered by computer at some clinics.
PLFUT
Doctors Gho and Neumann, highly respected in the hair loss field, published an exciting paper a few years ago. They described a new hair transplant technique that involved removing only a part of the follicle. LPFUT took just enough of the follicle to be able to regrow in its new location. You can see their original paper here.
The technique teases the possibility of scar-free transplant surgery and increased coverage. The process can produce additional follicular units in the lab meaning that even candidates with a limited donor area could be viable.
HIS Hair Clinic
The process certainly sounds like another step forward, though it will only be for those with deep pockets. Now, if they can only sort out the issue with the patient’s hair continuing to recede.
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