Dr. Bernstein Patents Hair Transplant Procedure with Delay Between Recipient Site Creation and Graft Insertion

Dr. Bernstein Patents Hair Transplant Procedure with Delay Between Recipient Site Creation and Graft Insertion

Recipient Site Creation at Bernstein Medical

Dr. Bernstein creating recipient sites using the ARTAS robot

Hair transplant pioneer Dr. Robert M. Bernstein and his colleague Dr. William R. Rassman have received a patent on a new method that improves the outcome of Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) — the type of procedure used in half of all hair transplants performed world-wide. The key invention is the addition of a delay between the creation of recipient sites and the insertion of follicular units into those sites. The delay allows the healing process to commence before grafts are inserted, resulting in increased success of the transplant and an improved outcome.

Dr. Bernstein introduced the concept of “pre-making recipient sites” into medical literature in a 2012 publication in Hair Transplant Forum International, has discussed the idea extensively, and presented findings at the 2015 ISHRS Annual Scientific Meeting. However, this is the first time he has patented a hair restoration technique.

The first 24 hours after any wound to the skin is a critical period of time in the healing process. Dr. Bernstein describes this initial period in his 2012 publication:

During the first 24 hours following recipient wound creation, a flurry of biologic activities take place that facilitate healing. These include: the migration of platelets with subsequent release of cytokines, growth factors and pro-inflammatory proteins (histamine, serotonin, kinins, prostaglandins, etc.) that increase blood vessel permeability and stimulate cell migration. Allowing these processes to begin before implantation of the grafts should be beneficial to their healing and subsequent growth. ((Bernstein RM, Rassman WR. Pre-making recipient sites to increase graft survival in manual and robotic FUE procedures. Hair Transplant Forum Intl. 2012; 22(4): 128-130.))

By making recipient sites in advance of harvesting the grafts, three important things are achieved by the surgeon:

The time in which follicular unit grafts are outside the body is decreased
The placement of grafts is facilitated, making it less likely that they are injured in the insertion process
The early phases of the healing process (e.g., blood clot formation, creation of new blood vessels) naturally complete, resulting in a more stable, “fertile” site supplied with oxygen and nutrients essential for graft survival.

Dr. Bernstein proposed “pre-making” recipient sites in 2012 as a way to improve the Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) procedure, and robotic-assisted FUE (Robotic FUE) in particular. This is due to the fact that the positioning of the patient makes it problematic to create recipient sites and place grafts while follicular units are being extracted from the donor area. This is not the case in Follicular Unit Transplant (FUT) procedures, in which a donor strip is removed from the patient then dissected on a dissecting table. In FUT, recipient sites can be created and grafts can be placed concurrently with the dissection process.

“Pre-making” recipient sites is a protocol that should be followed during all FUE hair transplant procedures. It is also applicable in hair multiplication and hair regeneration techniques that are being studied as a way to provide an unlimited amount of donor hair for hair restoration purposes.

Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D.

Dr. Bernstein Presents “Pre-Made Recipient Incisions” at 2015 ISHRS Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago

Dr. Bernstein at ISHRS 2015 Annual Scientific Meeting

Dr. Bernstein at the 2015 ISHRS Annual Scientific Meeting

Small, simple modifications in the sequence of the major steps in a Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) hair transplant procedure will be beneficial to healing and growth following the procedure, says renowned hair restoration surgeon Dr. Robert M. Bernstein. Presenting at the 23rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) in Chicago, Illinois, Dr. Bernstein detailed how making recipient site incisions before harvesting follicular unit grafts can improve the outcome of an FUE procedure.

For years, it was standard operating procedure in an FUE hair transplant to first harvest follicular units, then create recipient sites in the balding areas and place the extracted units into these sites. This practice persisted despite the fact that hair restoration physicians had known for years that prolonged periods of time outside the body decreased survival of follicular unit grafts. With the widespread adoption of FUE, and the long time needed for the extraction phase of the procedure, Dr. Bernstein looked for ways to streamline the process.

Dr. Bernstein Presenting at ISHRS 2015

By making the requisite number of recipient sites before harvesting, the grafts can be placed as soon as they are extracted. This reduces the critical period of time that grafts are out of the body. Sites created before harvesting have more time to begin healing, and so they exhibit less bleeding. This results in fewer grafts that “pop” out of the recipient site during placement. Mechanical trauma to grafts that need re-positioning after popping is also reduced. Allowing time for recipient sites to begin healing might also provide a more fertile bed for newly implanted grafts to take root. Additionally, pre-making sites provides time for crusts to form on the surface of the wound. Removing these crusts before placement decreases post-operative inflammation and promotes wound healing.

Dr. Bernstein proposed that in some large FUE sessions, in which large numbers of follicular units are transplanted, the surgeon might deliberately delay extraction to allow pre-made recipient sites additional time to heal by creating recipient sites the day before harvesting.

In sum, Dr. Bernstein provided the audience of hair restoration surgeons with a practical modification of the traditional FUE procedure that could impact the outcome of every hair transplant. Given the growth in the number of FUE hair transplants being performed (now about 50% of all hair transplant procedures) and the international platform provided by the ISHRS Annual Scientific Meeting, this small procedural adjustment could have a significant benefit for thousands of hair restoration patients around the world.

Read these publications by Dr. Bernstein on recipient site creation:

Pre-Making Recipient Sites to Increase Graft Survival in Manual and Robotic FUE Procedures (2012)
Robotic Recipient Site Creation in Hair Transplantation (2014)

Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D.

What is the Main Advantage of Robotic FUE Over Manual FUE?

Q: I’ve heard that robotic-assisted FUE is better than manual FUE, but what exactly is the main advantage of Robotic FUE? — N.K., Bergen County, NJ

A: Robotic FUE is a significant improvement over other FUE techniques for a number of reasons. The accuracy and ability of a robot to perform countless repetitive motions are key reasons why robotic techniques are an improvement over manual techniques.

In a manual procedure, the skill and speed of a physician are under constant stress, as he or she must follow the angle and depth of the hair precisely hundreds to thousands of times. This task is almost impossible for even the best surgeons to perform without risking harm to the integrity of the follicles. Entering the skin at the wrong angle risks transecting or cutting the follicles and may render them useless for transplantation. Making too shallow an incision can also damage follicles, as the important base of the follicle can become sheared off when it is subsequently extracted.

The robot is engineered to avoid these problems, and so the number of viable grafts that the robot extracts is increased. As a result, the likelihood of the success of the transplant is greater using the robotic system.

Dr. Bernstein Proposes Improvements to FUE Hair Transplant Procedures

Robotic FUE has improved Follicular Unit Extraction by automating what has been a labor intensive and often inexact manual procedure. It is the latest in a long line of improvements made to hair restoration procedures that lead to better results for hair transplant patients. Dr. Bernstein’s recent publication in Hair Transplant Forum International improves the FUE procedure even further, whether performing follicular unit extraction with the FUE robot or by hand.

In his article, Dr. Bernstein suggests two techniques to enhance the FUE procedure. First, he recommends that surgeons create recipient sites prior to extraction, in order to decrease the time grafts are in their holding solution outside the body. Second, he suggests adding time between site creation and graft harvesting and placement, to allow recipient site healing to progress.

Pre-Making Recipient Sites

As is discussed in the full article (which is available for viewing and download in our Medical Publications section), by making recipient sites first, the time grafts are out of the body will be reduced.FUE procedures lend themselves to easily reversing the normal hair transplant sequence of graft (strip) harvesting followed by dissection and site creation.

These “pre-made” recipient sites will also exhibit less bleeding than newly created sites and will exhibit the stickiness that makes older sites easier to place grafts into with less popping (a common source of graft injury). Besides allowing the placing step to proceed more quickly, pre-making sites will reduce the risk of mechanical injury inherent in repositioning elevated grafts.

After Site Creation, Add Delay between Graft Harvesting and Placement

While Dr. Bernstein acknowledges the expediency for the hair restoration physician, as well as the comfort of the patient in a single-day session, he suggests that, to facilitate growth after a transplant, multiple-day procedures should be considered in large hair transplant sessions that involve the placement of thousands of grafts.

In conclusion, these two modifications -— pre-making recipient sites and adding a delay before graft placement -— to the FUE procedure can potentially contribute to better growth due to easier, less traumatic graft insertion, a shortened time “out of body,” and the creation of a more fertile bed for the implanted grafts.

View the full article to read details about these and other potential advantages of pre-making recipient sites

Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D.

What Part of FUE Hair Transplant Does ARTAS Robotic System Perform?

Q: Does the robotic hair transplant system do the whole operation or does the doctor do any of it? — B.W., Brooklyn, NY

A: The ARTAS robot only performs a small part of the FUE procedure, although it is an important one. FUE comprises four basic steps:

Isolation of follicular units from the surrounding skin
Removal of follicular units from the scalp
Making recipient sites
Placing grafts into these sites

The robot only performs the first step, follicular unit isolation.

Even in this first step, however, physician control is extremely important, as the doctor must determine the precise depth to which both the sharp and blunt dissection are set. They must also make constant adjustments to the angle that aligns the instrument with the graft.

The ARTAS robotic system gets all of its cues from the surface of the skin, so that it can place the target follicular unit in the exact center of the cutting field of the robotic tip. It can also align the tip parallel with the emergent hairs. However, the angle of the hair as it emerges from the scalp is slightly different than the angle below the skin and the doctor needs to tell the robot what this angle is. Fortunately, the robotic imaging system provides the doctor with the information he needs to make this determination.

Read about Robotic Hair Transplantation.

Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D.