Is Stick-and-Place Hair Loss Treatment Right for Me?
Hair transplant treatment allows men and women to increase the volume of the hairline despite the effects of aging and genetics. Over the years, hair transplant techniques have continued to improve, offering patients the most natural treatment results with minimal risks or side effects.
One of the more advanced techniques that is currently available is the stick-and-place technique. The stick-and-place technique uses smaller incisions and creates less skin damage. This technique involves creating an opening and then immediately filling it with a hair graft to allow for the greatest degree of accuracy and flexibility. The end result is a thicker head of hair that looks completely natural.
Because of its many benefits, patients are eager to learn if they are ideal stick-and-place technique candidates at our Chicago, IL clinic. The experienced hair loss specialists at the Chicago Hair Institute are happy to help patients determine if this hair transplant method is right for them.
Stick-and-Place Candidates
Ideal candidates for the stick-and-place technique are those patients who are having hair transplanted to an area of the scalp with existing hair. The stick-and-place technique is beneficial to filling out thinner areas of hair because it allows for the greatest degree of precision.
Traditionally, transplant surgeons have relied on pre-made openings for hair graft transplants. With pre-made openings, a surgeon creates a series of incisions, and then a technician comes in to fill those openings with hair grafts. Unfortunately, even in a matter of minutes, pre-made openings may clot with blood, or become covered with fibers. This can make it difficult to find the openings, especially when other hair is present in the area.
The stick-and-place technique allows transplant patients with existing hair to avoid the most common risks of pre-made openings, which includes missing openings and leaving them empty, or accidentally filling one opening with two hair grafts.
Another reason that the stick-and-place technique is ideal for candidates with existing hair is that it allows for greater flexibility. While pre-made openings dictate in advance where hair grafts will be placed, the stick-and-place technique allows our surgeons to evaluate the transplant process and place grafts where they see fit. This optimizes the outcome of treatment, leaving patients with a fuller head of hair that looks naturally attractive.
Finally, the stick-and-place technique is best suited to patients transplanting to an area with existing hair because it protects surrounding hair. Pre-made openings must be larger than necessary because they will shrink as they sit. Larger openings are more likely to damage adjacent hair follicles and result in shock loss (the initial loss of hair after transplant surgery). The stick-and-place technique allows for smaller incisions that are less likely to damage surrounding hair follicles, which is especially important when there is healthy hair already present in the area.
Contact Us
If you have an area of the scalp where hair has begun to thin out, you are likely an ideal candidate for the stick-and-place technique. To learn more about this hair transplant method and whether it can give you the thicker head of hair you desire, contact us at your earliest convenience.