Lateral Slit Technique
Published on June 22nd, 2010.
Lateral Slit Technique is a breakthrough surgical technique in follicular unit hair transplantation that has been adopted by many hair restoration clinics throughout the world. The technique results in a natural looking hair transplant, minimizes trauma to the scalp, and allows the hair restoration doctor to transplant at higher densities. Lateral Slit Technique was invented by Dr. Jerry Wong of Hasson & Wong Hair Transplant Clinic in Vancouver, Canada. The procedure was further refined by Dr Hasson and combines the use of a custom cut blade cutter that can precisely match the depth of recipient sites to grafts. The impact of Lateral Slit Technique and custom cut blades is a hair transplant result that closely mimics nature.
Lateral Slits Mimic Nature
Prior to the Lateral Slit Technique (sometimes referred to as Coronal Angle Grafting), incisions into which grafts are transplanted, were made sagittally, or, parallel to the direction of hair growth. This parallel alignment of incisions to hair direction means that maximum densities are difficult to achieve and the angle of the hair tends to look unnatural. Lateral Slits, on the other hand, echo what nature is doing. For example, when viewing the donor area, follicular units appear to be lined up perpendicular to the to the direction of hair growth. Lateral Slits mimic this alignment, resulting in a natural, undetectable hair transplant. The hair transplant doctor can more precisely control the angle and direction of transplanted hairs, ensuring that they follow the pattern of neighbouring non-transplanted hair.
Lateral Slits Allow Dense Packing
When using sagittal slits, there is a build-up of pressure within the scalp tissue that limits the number of follicular units that can be safely placed in a given area without risking compression, the squeezing and damaging of grafts, or graft popping where the graft is elevated from its incision and subjected the the drying and damaging effects of air and further damage when they have to be reinserted into a pressure tightened incision. When the grafts are placed in lateral slits there is free transmission of pressure to the outer surface of the scalp and the pressures of neighbouring follicular units is not cumulative. This allows the doctor to dense pack more grafts safely.
Lateral Slits via Custom Blade Increase Graft Survival
Custom cut blades have become a mainstay tool of clinics that perform ultra-refined follicular unit transplantation. Blades are cut to match the depth of follicular units so that recipient site incisions are made only as deep as they need to be, resulting in less trauma to the vasculature, increased graft survival, quicker healing time, and minimal scarring.
Filled under Hair Transplant Surgical Technique.