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Deciding to have a hair transplant procedure is an important, life-changing decision. Understanding the details of the ARTAS® Robotic Procedure will help you determine if it is right for you. You will need to know what to expect before, during and after the procedure, as well as when you can expect to see results.
The ARTAS Robotic Procedure was designed with you in mind. Developed with leading hair transplant physicians and researchers, this state-of-the-art technology was created to eliminate the guesswork and fatigue associated with manual handheld methods, along with the scarring, complications and downtime of existing invasive surgical techniques. Unlike older transplant methods, no stitches are required, rendering your procedure nearly undetectable. You can now expect natural-looking results without the side effects and recovery times resulting from older techniques. Overcome the negative stigma associated with traditional hair transplants and reap the benefits of this revolutionary, physician-controlled technology.
During the initial stage, hair is selectively harvested with robotic precision providing consistent graft dissection. Advanced robotics provide speed and harvesting accuracy unavailable with manual handheld techniques.
The ARTAS System uses Recipient Site Making to implement your treatment design which is carefully created with the ARTAS Hair Studio Technology. Using the process of robotic Recipient Site Making, the ARTAS System protects your existing, healthy hair. Survival and growth rates of the transplanted hair depends entirely on the meticulous creation of these robotic recipient sites.

How Will You Look?

The ARTAS Hair Studio® Technology is a 3D photograph based simulation of your potential procedure results. During your consultation, your clinician will work to design your personalized cosmetic hair pattern and illustrate different options, showing you various graft counts and hair distribution, with your direct input. The same ARTAS Hair Studio Technology is used to create your robotic Recipient Site Making treatment design which is then transferred to the ARTAS Robotic System for implementation.

Day of the Procedure

Most ARTAS Robotic Procedures start in the morning and end in the afternoon. Wear comfortable clothes and bring a loose-fitting hat to wear home after your procedure.

During the Procedure

During the ARTAS Robotic Procedure, you will be seated and the physician and clinical team will do everything they can to ensure your comfort. A local anesthetic will be used while you remain awake and alert during the procedure. Most patients describe their experience as virtually pain-free.
The physician-assisted ARTAS® Robotic System will use advanced algorithms to select the best hairs for harvesting, while preserving the natural look of your donor area. Your aesthetic design from ARTAS Hair Studio is delivered to the robot for Recipient Site Making. Your hair is then transplanted into thinning areas.
There will be time for breaks during the procedure, so you should expect to have a pleasant experience throughout the process.

After the Procedure

You will be able to return home immediately after the procedure. Your clinician will instruct you on how to care for your newly transplanted hair. Most people will sleep comfortably without pain immediately post-procedure and will return to their regular activities in a few days.

Your New Hair Growth

Follow your clinician’s instructions on how to shampoo and care for your hair. Your newly transplanted hair, like the rest of your hair, grows steadily over time. After a few months, you will begin to see new hair growth. Around six months, you will start to notice significant growth. Your hair will continue to grow in the treated areas over time. You will be able to take care of your newly transplanted, permanent hair as you normally would.
[calltoaction]To learn more about our Robotic Hair Transplant Services, please contact us (817) 473-2120 or email appointments@markbisharamd.com to schedule an appointment.[/calltoaction]

A recent survey conducted by the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) showed that men and women around the world are seeking to correct hair loss while they’re younger rather than putting it off until later in life.
Since the ISHRS starting tracking data on hair restoration in 2004, the extrapolated worldwide volume of surgical hair restoration procedures performed from 2004 to 2012 increased 85 percent.  What explains this tremendous increase in people seeking help for hair loss, even during tough economic times?  We believe the unprecedented growth and increased popularity in hair restoration over the past decade can be directly attributed to the continual refinements and advances in this type of surgery – together with proven medical therapies – that produce natural-looking, permanent results.
Other key findings of the survey include:

  • The number of women undergoing hair restoration surgery worldwide increased 20 percent from 2004 to 2012
  • Patients aged 30 to 49 sought treatment for hair loss more than any other age group
  • In 2012, ISHRS members chose John Mayer and Sofia Vergara as the celebrities with the best hair

Hair Loss Treatments

We offer a variety of hair loss treatments to suit our patients’ every need and busy lifestyles. Dr. Mark Bishara stays current with the latest in hair restoration technology to offer you the most effective solutions and help you reach your aesthetic goals. With solutions ranging from non-surgical treatments to more in-depth procedures like a hair transplant, you can reverse the effects of hair loss and achieve the look you desire. To learn more about our treatment options, or to set up a consultation with our skilled and experienced hair restoration surgeon.
Hair Transplantation
During a hair transplant, hair is redistributed from fuller areas of the head, typically the sides and back of the head, to the balding or thinning areas. These grafts are placed to create a natural appearing result. The new hair follicles act as your normal hair, growing at the same rate as the rest of the area. The procedure can help you achieve a fuller head of hair and the results are permanent.

The ARTAS® Robotic System

ARTAS_System_Small
The ARTAS® Robotic System is a highly advanced surgical device used to harvest follicular unit grafts. It contains infrared cameras as well as state-of-the-art software to provide accurate follicle information for the most precise and efficient hair restoration surgery. ARTAS incorporates a number of elements in its operation, including an image-guided robotic arm and special imaging technologies that co-ordinate together for the purpose of implementing the “follicular unit extraction (FUE)” technique upon the recipient of the system. This procedure is available for both men AND women.
In our practice, we offer patients some of the latest techniques in hair restoration surgery and proven medical treatments that can help men and women permanently restore thinning hair.  If you are interested in hair restoration treatments, including ARTAS robotic hair transplants, and the latest treatment options, we would be happy to speak with you or invite you for a consult at our office.  Please call our office at (817) 473-2120, visit our website at www.MarkBisharaMD.com.

 

The ARTAS Robotic System

ARTAS Robot's Imaging System
The ARTAS Robot’s Imaging System

The ARTAS FUE robot is an image-guided system composed of a robotic arm, dual-needle punch mechanism, video imaging system, and a user interface. Its extraction technique consists of a double-punch arrangement with an inner (sharp) punch and outer (dull) punch. The inner punch has cutting capabilities to score the upper most part of the skin and the outer punch has a blunt edge used for dissection of the follicular units from the surrounding tissue that minimizes injury to the grafts. The image-guided system allows this step to be accomplished with great precision. The patient lies on a specially designed operating table that allows access of the robotic arm to the donor area of the scalp.
The ARTAS System is an interactive, computer assisted equipment employing image guidance to enhance the quality of hair follicle harvesting. ARTAS is the first hair transplant robot to improve the most challenging aspects of Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE).
There are two common ways to treat balding including strip harvesting and follicular unit extraction (FUE).  Strip harvesting is the most commonly used technique right now, and it is an efficient means of harvesting large quantities of follicles.
FUE offers less discomfort and a faster return to normal daily activities than traditional, more invasive methods of hair restoration. Performed in Dr. Bishara’s office, FUE with ARTAS moves healthy, functioning follicles to the areas of the patient’s scalp most impacted by baldness for more dramatic results. The implanted hairs develop their own blood supply, begin to grow and new hairs are seen a few months after the procedure has taken place. New hair continues to grow over the course of a full year, making the change in the patient’s appearance gradually noticeable to others. Healing time is short, and there is no resultant linear scar as happens with other methods of hair restoration. The only evidence is tiny, white scars left in the donor area, which are the same as those produced by manual FUE.

Benefits of ARTAS System
Robotic technology is used in numerous surgical and diagnostic procedures to improve the efficacy of treatments.  Restoration Robotics has incorporated robotic technology into FUE resulting in the ARTAS system which is the first and only FDA-cleared technology that allows the physician to control the image-guided robot.  I am able to make minor adjustments to dissection depths and angles during the extraction process ensuring my patients receive optimal results.
Before and After Pictures:

Please view more before and after pictures on our website at markbisharamd.com/robotic-hair-transplants.php#artas

Most people are a candidate for hair transplant surgery. However, in order to properly determine your candidacy for the procedure, an ARTAS physician will need to consider various factors, including age, family history of hair loss, current and projected future hair loss pattern (area of baldness), donor characteristics (laxity and density), and whether or not the goals of the patient can realistically be met.
The best way to find out if you are a candidate for a hair restoration procedure is to go to a surgeon that specializes in hair restoration. The answer will depend on the cause of your hair loss, your age, the stability of your donor supply, how extensive you hair loss is, your expectations and a number of other important factors that will be taken into account.
It’s important to have realistic expectations before undergoing a hair transplant procedure.
Remember there is a finite amount of donor hair that can be moved to the thinning areas of the scalp. If that hair isn’t used in an efficient manner the outcome of the procedure might not meet your expectations.  Every patient is examined on a case-by-case basis, but here are some general types of patients that are great candidates for hair transplants:

Technology Makes a Difference Click Here to download the brochure


The best candidates for hair restoration surgery are:

  • Men who have been losing their hair due to Male Pattern Baldness for more than five years or who have progressed to a Norwood class 3 or above.
  • Men with realistic expectations and who understand that their hair loss might continue to progress even if they are taking prescription medication to stop the progression.
  • Men who have been balding for many years and who’s pattern has stabilized and are interested in just adding some hair to provide a more youthful appearance.
  • Men and women who have lost hair due to trauma or burns
  • Men and women who have lost hair due to other cosmetic procedures such as face-lifts.

Some women are candidates for hair restoration surgery. They are:

  • Women who have suffered hair loss due to mechanical or traction alopecia (non-hormonal).
  • Women who have had previous cosmetic or plastic surgery and are concerned about hair loss around the incision sites.
  • Women who have a distinct pattern of baldness, similar to that of male pattern baldness. This includes hairline recession, vertex thinning (on the crown or top of the scalp), and a donor area that is not affected by androgenetic alopecia.
  • Women who suffer hair loss due to trauma, including burn victims, scarring from accidents, and chemical burns.
  • Women with alopecia marginalis, a condition that looks very similar to traction alopecia.

Hair Restoration is available for many areas, not just the head, although that is the most common place.  We also do hair restoration for eyelashes, eyebrows and beards.
Please visit the website of Dr. Bishara, who specializes in Hair RestorationRobotic Hair Transplants and Plastic Surgery at www.MarkBisharaMD.com or call our office at (817) 473-2120.


ARTAS Hair Studio™ Preview
Regarding FUE hair transplantation, Dr. Bernstein describes the recipient site creation process in detail. He explains why, in FUE procedures, the recipient sites are created before the follicular unit grafts are extracted from the donor area. “Pre-making” recipient sites is a key improvement to the FUE procedure that Dr. Bernstein was the first to describe in medical literature. It is beneficial in several ways, the most important of which include reducing the overall time grafts are out of the body and creating a “fertile bed” for the follicular unit grafts. Both of these processes contribute to increased graft survival.
At the 2nd ARTAS User Group Meeting in February 2014, Dr. Bernstein introduced hardware and software technology by which the ARTAS Robotic System can create recipient sites in an FUE hair transplant. The addition of the recipient site creation capability to the robot, which until now was used solely to extract follicular units, brings the system closer to performing all critical aspects of a hair transplant procedure.
In using the updated ARTAS robot, the doctor takes photographs of the patient which are fed into the robot’s computer system. The ARTAS™ Hair Studio converts the photos into a 3-D model of the patient. This model can be manipulated and saved for use in the patient’s procedure. The physician then designs the recipient site incisions in order to create the most natural looking hair transplant. During the procedure, the robot uses its guidance technology to avoid existing hairs while creating up to 1,500 recipient sites per hour. The automation of recipient site creation improves a procedure that, with manual tools, can be physically demanding and prone to human error.
The recipient site creation capability will be available for the ARTAS Robotic Hair Transplant System in the fall of 2014.
The final step of a robotic hair transplant will be the automated insertion of follicular units into recipient sites created by the ARTAS. This step is likely 2 or more years away from use in a hair restoration clinic.
On the advancement, Dr. Bernstein said: “This development is a crucial step towards a robotic system that can perform every aspect of a hair transplant. A great deal of credit goes to the engineers of Restoration Robotics who have worked to make automated recipient site creation a reality. I am proud that this work not only improves hair transplants for patients, but adds to the increasingly important trend of using robotic technology in medicine.”
The ARTAS Robotic System, developed by Restoration Robotics, is currently in use by hair restoration physicians around the world to automate the extraction of grafts of skin and hair called follicular units.. Follicular units, which are natural groupings of one to four hair follicles, form the biological basis of the modern hair transplant procedure. Once extracted from the back of the patient’s scalp, the follicular unit grafts are then inserted into recipient sites in the balding area of the scalp where they grow hairs that are immune to the effects of common hair loss.
This is exciting news to the hair restoration industry and for patients interested in hair restoration.  For more information on Robotic Hair Restoration in the Texas area, please contact Dr. Mark Bishara’s office at (817) 473-2120 or visit our website at www.MarkBisharaMD.com.