Manual-Punch and Micromotor in Hair Transplant

What is a hair transplant?

Hair loss is a widespread problem affecting both men and women from a wide range of age groups. Caused by various factors such as autoimmune conditions, genetic factors, hormonal issues and psychological issues such as stress and anxiety, hair loss or baldness may be partly treated with drugs and alternative treatment. However, the most effective and permanent treatment method is a hair transplant. Those who would like to see the best results in a short time would eventually opt for hair transplantation.

The thing is there is more than one hair transplant method with different techniques. The main two methods are FUT and FUE hair transplants. FUT is considered to be the first professional hair transplant method that yielded better results than the previous attempts. However, it was replaced by FUE, the most advanced hair transplant method with different graft extraction techniques. Manual-punch and micromotor techniques are graft extraction techniques classified under the FUE method. Patients may have questions about the advantages and disadvantages of these techniques to decide which one to choose. Read on to get more information.

Micromotor FUE Hair Transplant

Micromotor FUE is a special graft extraction technique used in the hair transplant procedure. Your doctor will first collect the hair follicles from the donor area to harvest into the balding areas of the scalp. The techniques used in the graft extraction phase will have an impact on both the ease of operation and the success of the procedure. Micromotor is the method of choice by many doctors as it enables them to take the hair follicles out automatically. Micromotor is the name of the tool that collects the grafts.

Since its discovery, it is gradually becoming popular as it allows for the collection of hair follicles easily and quickly. As it is easier and faster to collect hair follicles, the graft extraction phase takes less time as compared to the manual graft extraction method. This tool has punches of different sizes adjustable by the hair thickness. Micromotor with sharp tips will first loosen the hair follicles and then take them out with micropen-set. Adjustable sharp tips minimize the damage to the hair follicles and tissue around hair follicles, which increases the chances of success of hair transplant.

Advantages, Disadvantages, and Risks Of Micromotor FUE

Micromotor FUE comes across as quite an advantageous technique. First off, it will enable the doctor to save time. After all, it is a device with automatic features. Both patient and the doctor can benefit from shorter durations of surgery because medical procedures may cause fatigue and boredom. Moreover, your doctor can collect a higher number of grafts ( pieces of skin with a few hair follicles inside ) so in one session your doctor can implant as many grafts as possible to fill the bald areas. So the patient may obtain the desired results in only one hair transplant session.

Micromotor FUE is not free from disadvantages, either. This is because it is a sophisticated procedure with difficulties to implement. If the surgeon lacks the knowledge, practice, and care to conduct this technique, they may hurt the hair follicles, which will eventually reduce the success rate of the procedure. Plus, the micromotor device may harm the hair follicles as it is, after all, an electrical device that emits heat.

What Is Manual-punch FUE?

The manual punch technique is the classical graft extraction technique of the FUE method as it was first discovered. As the name ‘’manual’’ suggests, your doctor will collect the hair follicles from the donor area one by one. A manual punch is a tool with a sharp edge that digs the skin and lets the surgeon take the grafts out. The tool named punch is of size 0.7 to 1.0 mm in diameter and ensures a completely manual extraction. Although many doctors consider the micromotor technique more advanced thanks to its advantages stated above, some doctors consider manual-punch more developed. This is because the surgeon has complete control over the graft extraction procedure, and can make all the necessary movements and arrangements to lead the surgery. The manual-punch is the oldest graft extraction method in FUE, namely, the standard FUE method.

Advantages, disadvantages, and risks of manual-punch FUE?

Manual-punch has both its advantages and disadvantages as is the case with most techniques. First off, it allows the surgeon to intervene in the procedure and make all the necessary movements to prevent possible complications. As it provides complete control over the procedure, your doctor will feel more comfortable and confident. There are a lot of doctors who consider manual-punch the safest and the best technique to collect grafts.   

However, it is deprived of the advantages the micromotor technique provides. As compared to the micromotor FUE method, the most significant disadvantages of this technique are the long duration of the procedure and high cost. Plus, your doctor cannot collect as many grafts as they can with the micromotor device. They can not collect grafts more than 1000 to 1500 but the micromotor device allows the surgeon to collect up to 4000 grafts in one session. So a person with severe baldness may not benefit from this technique to the fullest and may need another hair transplant to cover the bald areas.

Which one should you go for?

It may be difficult to decide between these two competing techniques. Both micromotor FUE and manual-punch FUE have their advantages and disadvantages, which can make it quite hard to decide which one outweighs the other. Micromotor FUE is the most preferred method of hair transplantation as doctors like to save time and get less tired. They can take as many as 4000 grafts out in one session and provide the patient with a favorable hair density. Both the patient and the doctor will be fond of a method that can give the patient a new hair look without a trace of baldness.

However, if the donor area in your scalp does not have enough hair follicles, your doctor will need to take the necessary grafts from other hair areas of your body then they will prefer manual-punch. Besides, manual punch gives them control over the whole procedure. All in all, the patient’s needs and the doctor’s preferences will be the determining factors of the hair transplantation method.