One of Sydney’s leading cosmetic surgeons, Dr Michael Zacharia, was so impressed by NeoGraft, the new ‘minimally invasive’ alternative to hair transplant surgery, that he trialled the procedure on his 26-year-old son. NeoGraft is an FDA-approved “follicular unit harvesting and implantation” device used to transplant hair quickly and effectively with no noticeable scarring.
The device, which has proven its effectiveness in the US for the last ten years with an average ‘Worth It’ rating of 95 percent on RealSelf.com, was launched into Australia late last year.
Dr Zacharia, who first saw the NeoGraft at a medical conference in Los Angeles five years earlier, purchased the device soon after.
Since then he has used it to restore hair on numerous “very happy” patients including his son Sam. Dr Zacharia was surprised Sam, a personal trainer who only had a slightly receding hairline, was eager to have the treatment.
“We were talking about the NeoGraft, and he said, ‘I’ll be one of your first’, and I said something like, ‘I didn’t even realise that you wanted it’.
“I hadn’t noticed Sam’s receding areas as he always combs his hair forward. “I didn’t think it was really that bad, even with his hair pulled back, but he wanted it done…” Sam and Dr Zacharia are both happy with the natural-looking results, and the latter is eager to perform the procedure on even more patients.
In sharp contrast to the traditional ‘strip method’ of hair replacement, NeoGraft removes individual hair follicles from the scalp in their naturally occurring groupings (grafts) of about 1-4 hairs and places them in areas where balding has occurred.
According to Dr Zacharia, NeoGraft is the least invasive hair transplantation procedure. “There are no stitches or staples used in the procedure, and there is no obvious scar.”
In addition, “patients feel little to no discomfort during the procedure (performed under local anaesthesia) and generally only need about three days to recover”.
The procedure has already been “life-changing” for many of Dr Zacharia’s patients.
“Men are often very self-conscious about their balding, so it negatively impacts so many aspects of their lives,” he says.
“Hair transplants really give them their confidence back…. They are often like a new person as their personalities change so much…”
Nonetheless, Dr Zacharia believes many men, particularly older ones, are still reluctant to seek help for their hair loss as they are too self-conscious, or even ashamed, to do so.
Fortunately, NeoGraft is ideal for those who want a “discreet solution”.
“Hair restoration with the NeoGraft procedure is unnoticeable. The scalp doesn’t need to be shaved anywhere except in the very small area at the back of the head where the grafts are taken from”.
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