Handling Tissues Gently in Hair Restoration
My mentor always taught me, “Sam, no amount of ice can replace the gentle hand of a surgeon.” Those words have remained fixed in my mind every time I approach a patient and his/her tissues. Training for many years as a surgeon, I saw the full gamut of surgeons at work: some with delicate hand movements and those that seemed to be Neanderthals struggling with bricks in their hands. I have always tried to emulate the former. It is so important that a surgeon no matter how technical and artistic he or she is that the surgeon remain extremely feather touch with one’s hands. Brutal application of fingers can lead to inordinate swelling, discomfort and recovery time that would otherwise be avoided with gentle handling. As my mentor said to me, there is no amount of postoperative ice that will cover the tracks of an aggressive, unrefined surgeon.
Gentle Graft Placement Illustrated
The consequence of being gentle in the world of hair restoration also involves the care of the graft-preparation team. If the grafts are mangled during dissection and placement, the grafts either grow poorly or grow unnaturally. The act of squeezing the hair shaft during insertion into the scalp will lead to a kinky, pubic-hair appearance. All my team members are trained only to hold the graft along the cuff of fat and never by the hair shaft itself that leads to the aforementioned damage. Being gentle in all things is a prerequisite to being an excellent surgeon and in the world of hair restoration is mandatory also for the accompanying surgical team.
Samuel M. Lam, MD, FACS is a board certified hair restoration surgeon in Dallas, Texas. To learn more about Dr Lam’s hair transplant procedures please visit our website hairtx.com or call 972-312-8105 to schedule a consultation.