Greetings,

With the advent of the NeoGraft machine and it’s accompanying marketing that includes ideas for the prospective “NeoGrafter” that an attending physician is only necessary in order to “lend” his license to the practice so that they be allowed to perform hair transplant procedures, it has opened up a new chapter in the discussion of what is acceptable to delegate in Hair Transplantation. Physicians performing Hair Transplants have delegated certain tasks for years including dissection of the grafts and placement of the grafts. In some practice they even practice the “stick and place” method where the nurse create the incision site and places the hair graft in the incision. In my practice I create each and every insertion site for the placement of the hair grafts. My thought is that the exact design is based on the creation of the receptor sites. The hairline design, as well as the angle and orientation of the hair growth are all affected by the creation of the receptor site. I believe that the surgeon should have the complete control of this step as it is the surgeon who will take full responsibility for the outcome of the procedure. For patients exploring the idea of having a Hair Transplant procedure it is important that they ask important questions such as, “what are the steps in the procedure that the physician will be performing, if any, and what are the steps that the physicians assistants will be performing?” Knowing as much information about the physician and the medical group that is performing your procedure will assist in making an informed decision, and hopefully one that will lead to positive results.

All the best,

Marc Dauer, M.D.