Minimally Invasive Hair Transplants: What to Expect

Many things cause hair loss or hair thinning, including age and some medical conditions. Although men suffer from hair loss more often than women, it can affect both sexes.

Thinning hair, receding hairlines, and bald spots make it hard to be confident in your appearance. Hair transplants are a great option but can be invasive and very obvious, which is why the team at Meridian Plastic Surgery in Meridian, Mississippi, offers minimally invasive hair transplants as an option.

Dr. Lee K. Thornton and Dr. Mark S. Elliott provide the AuraGraft hair restoration system, which is minimally invasive and offers a more natural look with less downtime than other options.

Dr. Thornton and Dr. Elliott are both board-certified plastic surgeons who help every patient look and feel their best through various cosmetic procedures.

What causes hair loss?

Hair loss is an issue that can happen to any part of your body, from your head to your toes. It can be temporary or permanent and occurs for various reasons.

Also called alopecia, hair loss typically affects men more than women. Baldness happens on the head and is generally caused by genetics or age. Other common causes of hair loss include:

• Extreme stress
• Medications
• Hormonal changes
• Radiation therapy
• Hairstyles

Most people lose about 100 hairs daily, but it's not noticeable. If you're beginning to see thinning spots on your head or notice a bald area, treatments are available to help you regain your natural hair.

The facts on the AuraGraft system

If you're ready to consider hair transplants, we are excited to offer the newest and best technology in the form of the AuraGraft hair transplant system. AuraGraft hair restoration is one of the best options on the market and it’s approved by the FDA.

The AuraGraft system is a form of follicular unit excision or FUE. Traditional forms of FUE require a surgeon to manually remove hair follicles from a separate part of your scalp and make incisions in balding areas where they implant those hair follicles.

The advantage of the AuraGraft system is that it's partially automated, removing some human error from the process. It's also minimally invasive, requiring much less damage to your skin and hair follicles, and provides a natural growth pattern at the implanted follicle sites.

When using the AuraGraft system for hair transplants, our doctors use a unique wand and pneumatic technology to harvest individual hair follicles using gentle suction. Then they move the hair using the innovative system that makes the incision and transplants the follicles at the same time.

The result is more natural-looking hair and fewer complications than traditional forms of FUE. There's also less damage and a quicker procedure than other forms of hair transplantation.

What to expect 

Deciding to get hair transplants is exciting and nerve-racking, especially when you’re unsure what to expect. Our team walks you through each step to ease your mind and prepare you for a new chapter in your life.

On the day of the procedure, we take you to the comfortable treatment room, and give you a sedative to help you relax. Your doctor uses a local anesthetic to numb the area where they're harvesting the hair follicles. 

Gently, the AuraGraft system removes the donation follicles from your scalp and implants them into the balding areas. The device makes a tiny incision and implants the hairs at the same time.

There may be some bleeding after the procedure, so we cover up the transplant site and donor site with a dressing to keep the areas clean and dry. Many people return to work the day after the procedure.

You should heal in six or seven days and return to your normal activities within about two weeks. To find out if hair transplants suit you, don't hesitate to call Meridian Plastic Surgery today at 601-693-7742 or request a consultation on the website.