Better with the pencil ? (FUE HT)

[vinnytr]

I have been talking to 2 different HT surgeons about having a full FUE HT .

I have been told they are using slightly different procedures for inserting the hairs in the recipient area .

From what i understand the first one is making slits for the new hairs and inserts them into these channels .

The 2nd surgeon however is using a pen with the new hair already placed in and strikes the recipient area with this . So the channel for the new hair is made at the same time as its inserted in its place .
I have been told this is done to allow the surgeon to be able to pack hairs denser and also causes less of a scarring and faster healing in the recipient area because the holes are smaller and the planted hair acts as a plug to stop loss of blood ?

Is there anything wrong with the above statements ?

[Spex]

Umm, Choi Implanter.... research

Not good.

[vinnytr]

Umm, Choi Implanter.... research

Not good.

Is this you being helpful ?

[Spex]

Ok. Thanks

[Spex]

but no thanks...

Research the Choi implanter as this is what option 2 sounds like which is highly unsuccessful and there is a great deal of info on it.

I was trying to help by summarising that you need to research the 'Choi Implanter' this will help answer your question.

Seriously man, no need to be so angry or disrespectful.

[ejj]

Vinny

What a disgraceful reply to someone who is trying to help you !

So for the benefit of anyoneELSE who is considering `choi` let me share my experience of it , which was a complete failure , no growth , a complete marketing ploy to lure the unsuspecting into a procedure, performed by substandard Drs in substandard clinics dotted around the globe

To be avoided at all costs

ejj

[vinnytr]

but no thanks...

Research the Choi implanter as this is what option 2 sounds like which is highly unsuccessful and there is a great deal of info on it.

I was trying to help by summarising that you need to research the 'Choi Implanter' this will help answer your question.

Seriously man, no need to be so angry or disrespectful.

Spex ,I thought you were trying to be funny.Apologies if you were not.

As you can see i did not even know the name of the instrument ,i have just seen it in work . So this was the start of my research .

I must say i am really surprised you guys think this technique is absolutely useless but also glad in a way because i am considering this technique at a 3 times higher cost than the 1st one !!
Whats most shocking is the surgeon that carries out the procedure using this implanter has a very good reputation and from the results i have seen he has got very good survival rate . Progress pics of one of his patients which i am in contact with through the net and he swears by him .

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.110688599038975.17274.100002935078798&type=1&l=a00ecfa582

You can actually see the "choi implanter" in the pictures.
The latest pictures are of his 6-7 th month i believe .
Is that a bad hair transplant then ?How come he has a good survival rate ?

[kd]

In my opinion you should see if you can meet some of his patients in person and speak with them. More then one ideally. I have no idea about this Chio method, but the results in the picture warrants some further research.

Wish you luck in your discussion

[vinnytr]

In my opinion you should see if you can meet some of his patients in person and speak with them. More then one ideally. I have no idea about this Chio method, but the results in the picture warrants some further research.

Wish you luck in your discussion

So just to confirm as i am not sure what a good HT is anymore .
The HT in the pics is a good one right ???
By the way around 800 grafts from the beard were taken for the above HT.

Here is a video of the same surgeon during a procedure with the implnater.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wngl98OdxA8

I have googled a bit about the choi pen and could not come across anything yet to say its bad . here is quoted from the website ,which i believe are the thoughts of a M.D

The Choi implanter is just a surgical tool. It makes some aspects of the transplant easier to perform, especially for those people who did not develop the difficult placing skills with the more traditional transplant tools used throughout the world. An instrument is only as good as the person using it, so I can not package the tool with the technique. The Choi generally requires ‘skinny’ grafts, which tend to dry out more easily, therefore, this instrument requires special skills, different than those that do not have to make the grafts skinny. Some people believe that skinny grafts do not grow as well. I believe that in the right hands, with the years of experience, skinny grafts should grow as well a chubby grafts. The grafts we make are half way between skinny and chubby, just my preference.

The Choi implanter did not develop a following in the United States. In Asia and other parts of the world, it is very popular. I do not believe that it is any better than anything else that the surgeons have perfected in their native countries

WHAT DOES A "SKINNY GRAFT" MEAN ??

from here ;

http://www.baldingblog.com/2006/02/03/what-is-the-choi-implanter/

Again i would like people that are severely dissing this procedure to give me some solid reasons as to why it should be avoided at all cost ??

I am not trying to defend or promote anyone by the way , I have never had HT and I am basicly shitting bricks .
I have booked for a HT with the above surgeon middle of may . Basicly i want to be %100 sure with my choice before i go under the knife... ermmm the pen . Because i want to have HT once and never again for the rest of my life .

[kd]

when I said warranty further investigation I meant because it looks really good it is worth not just dismissing this method.
Miscommunication from me.

[Artista]

Vinny's posting on the Choi implanter

That was a quote from Dr Rassman at his blog site in answering a question about the "Choi Implanter". The points that had stood out to me were this --
"‘skinny’ grafts, which tend to dry out more easily...Some people believe that skinny grafts do not grow as well"
"The Choi implanter (is used by)those people who did not develop the difficult placing skills with the more traditional transplant tools"

Based on those points alone I would NOT opt for that type of technique to be done on my scalp.

[mattj]

I must say i am really surprised you guys think this technique is absolutely useless but also glad in a way because i am considering this technique at a 3 times higher cost than the 1st one !!

It's very much a labour-saving instrument so I'm surprised that the cost would be higher.

Ultimately it comes down to results and an instrument that might give poor results in the hands of one surgeon isn't necessarily bad if another surgeon can do magic with it. On the whole, though, you'd be best off seeking out a surgeon who makes the incisions himself and where the grafts are inserted without the aid of a machine.

[vinnytr]

It's very much a labour-saving instrument so I'm surprised that the cost would be higher.

Ultimately it comes down to results and an instrument that might give poor results in the hands of one surgeon isn't necessarily bad if another surgeon can do magic with it. On the whole, though, you'd be best off seeking out a surgeon who makes the incisions himself and where the grafts are inserted without the aid of a machine.

Thanks for your detailed input on this .

Can you tell me what the other method is called ? the one where the surgeon makes the incisions himself ?

I have been told i would need around 4500 grafts if the donor area is capable of supplying .The HT will take 2 days and 8 hours each day . As far as i am aware the picking of the donor grafts are done by micromotor .There is a team of 9 people including the surgeon and he is the only one that does the inserting the grafts and i believe the rest of the team are there to fill up the "choi implanters"
Does the above make sense ?? How long would the same amount of grafts take to transplant with the labour heavy method then ??

[vinnytr]

Spex & Ejj , you guys have been quiet ??