Dr. Melissa Toyos is an oculofacial surgeon specializing in FUE (follicular unit extraction) hair and eyebrow transplantation, CO2 facial resurfacing, and sculpting faces with injectables. A summa cum laude graduate and board-certified Ophthalmologist, she is a partner at Toyos Clinic and formerly was a partner at one of the largest eye care practices in the country. Dr. Toyos is a national researcher and lecturer. She trains other doctors on surgical techniques as well as cosmetic procedures. Her clinical research has been instrumental in many FDA approvals. She is the former President of the Missouri Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons. She has held various leadership positions with the AAO. Dr. Toyos has served as a mentor to young female surgeons, helping them understand how to balance a career and motherhood.
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If you have been contemplating a hair or eyebrow transplant, you’ve probably already done enough googling to determine that you want an FUE (follicular unit extraction) instead of FUT (older method of harvesting grafts in which a big chunk of your scalp is removed and then the hairs are divided manually). FUT leaves a big old ugly linear scar on the back of your head so that men have to wear their hair longer to cover it and it can be quite uncomfortable to sleep on stitches or staples for the first few weeks after transplant.
There are a few types of machines that provide FUE: SmartGraft, Neograft and Artas. Artas is basically a robot that does most of the grafting which is cool but it isn’t nearly as accurate as an experienced person retrieving the grafts, so Haute Beauty expert Dr. Melissa Toyos will focus on SmartGraft and Neograft. Here's what she had to say:
Neograft was the first FUE. SmartGraft is the latest FUE. There are two main reasons that SmartGraft is the better choice: the ergonomically designed hair retrieval handpiece and the canisters.
The handpiece is an instrument that looks and acts a lot like a dental drill to cut through the scalp, retrieve the hair follicle and suction it up into the system. SmartGraft angled their handpiece to improve the accuracy of graft retrieval (more usable grafts) which means better efficiency and more hairs on your head when you are receiving a transplant.
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The second reason SmartGraft stands head and shoulders above Neograft is the canister system. When grafts are retrieved in Neograft, they flow into a canister in the suction line. Technicians have to stop and clear that canister every 300 grafts or so, which slows everything down. Worse yet, the suction air flow moves across the grafts as you work meaning that the retrieved grafts are subject to drying which makes them less likely to be successfully implanted.
SmartGraft, on the other hand, sends their grafts straight into a canister within the machine. You can collect as many grafts as you want (3000 or more) without having to empty the canister, shaving off valuable time for patients. The operator sets the temperature and moisture levels of the grafts keeping them chilled and continuously moisturized, boosting their survival rate and ultimately a patient’s results. Happy grafts, happy hair. We do this already in medicine when we are transplanted other things like kidneys and hearts. We know that organs do better when they stay cold and moist and hair follicular grafts are no different. SmartGraft treats each graft like the precious little transplant that it is.
At the end of the day, you should choose a hair transplant provider that has experience. At Toyos Clinic hair restoration, we have over two decades of experience and we were the first to bring SmartGraft to Nashville. We believe in giving our patients the best hair transplant experience and the best results for your money. Call our Concierge line today 800.901.6638 for your free in-person or online consultation in Memphis, Nashville or New York City. To learn more about SmartGraft and Neograft, watch Dr. Toyos detailed explanation below:
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