Surgical hair restoration and the advent of a robotic-assisted extraction device.

Abstract

The number of surgical hair restorations performed worldwide is ever-increasing. Today's gold standard in surgical hair restoration is follicular unit transplantation (FUT). FUT refers to the transplantation of individual follicular units (FUs) from the donor region to the recipient region. Strip extraction and manual FU extraction (FUE) are the most common methods for FU production. While strip extraction and manual FUE both hold individual merits, they are also associated with a number of limitations. The introduction of a robotic surgical assistive device may circumvent many of the limitations associated with traditional strip and manual FUE methods. As with all new technologies, however, the robotic device will require further independently funded, peer-reviewed, clinical testing to establish its efficacy relative to existing hair restoration methods in clinical practice.