| Contents: · Abstract · Who is a Candidate? · Laser Hair Removal · Electrolysis · Punch Removal · Donor Site Repair · Treatment of Surgical Scars · Results and Conclusions · References · Home · Back to HT Website |
ELECTROLYSIS The technique utilized for hair repair surgery is not really that as used by the electrology profession - their methods utilize weaker currents and take multiple sessions to ablate each single hair bulb and also seek to avoid scarring in visually prominent locations. Here, instead, we wish to remove 1-3 hair groups with 1 larger burst of current, yet not destroy the entire plug. We also still wish to avoid a surface scar.A solution is to utilize a pinpoint tip (such as used in transconjunctival blepharoplasty) with a low coagulation current on a standard cautery. For example, with the Bard 5000 unit, the setting ranges from 15 to 20, with a fingertip unit, coagulation only, with a pinpoint setting for 1 to 4 hair grafts and spray setting for 5 or more hairs in a graft. One must be careful not to use energy so high that the entire plug is destroyed or a cutaneous scar develops. Rather, the intent is to selectively remove 1-4 hairs in groups from a larger graft to reduce the graft to a naturally occurring visual unit. Under local anesthesia, the technique is performed utilizing magnifocusers or loops. A pentip cautery, with pinpoint tip, is employed in 1-2 second bursts. It is not necessary or desirable to see bubbling on the surface. One should withdraw the tip and then move onto the next target. In this manner, a large number of grafts can be treated in a relatively short time. |