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The follicular isolation technique is a process of
removing one follicular unit at a time from the donor region. Our technique
has evolved from the techniques of Dr. Inaba, Dr. Woods, and Dr. Rassman. A
special instrument is used to extract the individual follicular units.
This instrument must cut into the dermis to a point just deep to the arrector
pili muscle. Once this structure is cut, the graft can be extracted intact.
Grafts ranging from one to 5 hairs each have been extracted. Our technique has
allowed the largest single session of graft removal in a single day. We
successfully removed 950 intact follicular units in a single day. We also have
the largest successive sessions in a two day span on the same patient.
Currently, we are able to move almost 2000 grafts in a two day time using our
follicular isolation technique.
This process requires a dermal depth analysis so that we can properly judge
the depth of the arrector pili muscle. We have found that this depth varies from
one region of the donor area to another.
Our process allows for the harvesting of hair from multiple regions of the
body. This includes chest, stomach, back, etc. hair. The combination of this
technique with standard graft harvesting expands the scalp donor region. The
ability to use hair from other regions of the body also adds significantly to
the total amount of available donor hair. Dr. Ray Woods has found that chest
hair grafted to the scalp eventually begins to grow faster and longer than it
did when it was on the chest.
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