If you’re researching hair transplant options, you’ve probably noticed that many clinics advertise the “latest technology” or “most advanced equipment.” Marketing for such clinics lead potential patients to believe that the devices they use deliver perfect results every time because the procedure uses AI-powered robotics for harvesting and implanting hair grafts.

However, the surgeon’s experience and surgical skill matter more than technology alone in achieving an exceptional, natural-looking result. And—as you will learn—robotic systems are too often purchased and used by doctors who have no training in the complex procedure of hair restoration surgery, viewing it only as a profitable revenue stream. When used ethically, some types of technology—such as an implanter pen, which extracts and simultaneously implants hair follicles into the scalp, supports skill—but it doesn’t replace it. Here are the facts you need to make an informed decision.

Hairline Design Requires an Artistic Eye

One of the most critical and irreversible aspects of a hair transplant is hairline design. This step is not something that can be automated or standardized.

An experienced surgeon understands how to do the following:

• Create age-appropriate, natural-looking hairlines.
• Balance facial proportions.
• Account for gender-specific hairline patterns. The mature male hairline is characterized by an M-shape, in which hair recedes at the temples, creating distinct points that form the letter M. The female hairline is characterized by an inverted U-shape.
• Consider ethnic hair characteristics.
• Build subtle irregularity into the hairline (not a straight, artificial line).
• Plan for future hair loss progression.

In your mind’s eye, you may have an idea of where your restored hairline should be. But a hair transplant surgeon’s technical skill should also be informed by a strong aesthetic sensibility. Dr. Marco Barusco—Founder and Chief Medical Officer at Tempus Hair Restoration—follows the classic “rule of thirds” as put forth by Leonardo da Vinci in determining each patient’s ideal hairline position.

“When I look at a hairline, the first thing I look for is where I should put it in relation to the eyebrows, and how high or how low on the forehead. That’s what we call height—the main parameters as far as the position of the hairline that should be considered. When you look at Leonardo da Vinci’s works, you will see that he divided the face of the subject he was trying to sculpt or draw into thirds, so that the distance between the chin and the tip of the nose, the tip of the nose to the eyebrows and the eyebrows to the hairline were all in proportion. The tip of your nose should be about the same distance as your eyebrows to your hairline. If you do it on yourself, you’ll see that it’s pretty close.”

Our blog post—“Principles of Male Hairline Design”—covers this topic in detail, as does Dr. Barusco’s YouTube video of the same title on his channel, Hair Loss Medical Advice.

Hair Graft Survival Depends on Surgical Technique

Hair follicles are living tissue. How they are extracted, stored and implanted has a direct impact on how many grafts survive and grow.

Skilled surgical teams know how to:

• Minimize follicle transection during extraction.
• Maintain proper hydration and temperature of grafts.
• Limit the amount of time grafts remain outside the body.
• Handle follicles delicately to prevent trauma.
• Match graft size to recipient site depth.

Following these steps require training, repetition, and experience—not just advanced tools. Improperly treated grafts quickly die, and will not grow in the recipient area, resulting in a failed transplant. Poor quality control conditions include dehydration, warming and oxygen deprivation.

During your consultation with a hair transplant surgeon, ask how hair grafts are treated and prepared for transplantation after harvesting. An ethical surgeon will readily answer this—and any other—question you may have. Our blog post—“An Up-close Look at Hair Grafts”—covers this topic in detail.

Critical Planning of a Hair Transplant Procedure and Judgement Calls Can’t be Automated

Every patient’s hair loss pattern, supply of available donor hair and long-term needs are different. Experienced surgeons make real-time decisions that no machine or standardized protocol can replace.

These include:

• How many grafts can be safely harvested.
• Whether a Follicular Unit Excision (FUE), Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT), or a hybrid approach is best.
• How dense grafts can be placed without compromising blood supply.
• How to manage limited donor hair.
• How to plan a transplant that will still look natural 10–20 years later.

These decisions often determine whether a result looks outstanding—or disappointing. Or worse yet, disastrous. They’re also what separate elite surgeons from high-volume clinics that rely on a “one size fits all” approach. Moreover, clinics and medical practices that don’t specialize in hair transplants are more likely to rely on a robotic device to perform the procedure. Our blog post—“Why You Should Avoid Practices That Don’t Specialize in Hair Restoration”—covers this topic in detail, and includes the following facts:

• The person operating the robotic device may be a technician with no medical training, much less a medical license. Keep in mind that hair transplant surgery is surgery. Florida and other states in the U.S. have passed legislation which deems that harvesting hair and making incisions on a patient are functions that only a physician, a Physician’s Assistant (not the same as a technician or nurse) or a Nurse Practitioner are allowed to perform. Any doctor who allows others to perform a hair transplant in their practice is aiding and abetting the illegal practice of medicine and may lose his or her license and/or face felony charges.
• One red flag that a practice uses a robotic device is if it doesn’t offer the FUT procedure, as such devices can only perform the FUE. Far from being obsolete, the FUT—also known as the strip method—may be the better procedure, depending upon the patient’s situation. Of course, this is a determination that only an experienced, skilled surgeon can make.

Says Dr. Barusco:

“I meet with patients almost every day who have trusted doctors and practices because they had these devices, only to find out later that they would need me to fix what’s been done to them. And what is even worse, is that these patients are coming to me not only with poor results on their hairline, but also scarring and thinning of their donor hair caused by taking too many hairs with incisions that are too close together and/or larger than they should be.”

What Patients Should Prioritize When Choosing a Hair Transplant Surgeon

Rather than focusing on which devices a clinic owns, patients should look for the following:

• The surgeon’s years of experience in hair restoration.
• Consistency and naturalness in before-and-after photos.
• Quality of hairline design.
• Patient testimonials and independent reviews.
• Surgeon involvement in all critical surgical steps.
• Specialization in complex cases (such as scar repair, ethnic hair, or female hair loss).

Knowledge is Power! Choose Your Surgeon Wisely!

Being an informed consumer is the first step in knowing how to see through the marketing hype of hair transplant and cosmetic surgery clinics that put the emphasis on technological devices rather than the experience, skill, judgement and aesthetic sense of the surgeon. Dr. Barusco’s long list of accomplishments, his notable artistic ability and his successful surgical team make Tempus Hair Restoration a renowned practice. We understand that the main concern you may have is cost, which is why we offer financing options that can place this important goal within reach.

Contact us to schedule your free virtual consultation. Dr. Barusco conducts every consultation himself, giving you the opportunity to learn your options in the comfort of your home—or any location, on any internet-enabled device. 

Dr. Barusco conducts consultations in English, Spanish and Portuguese. For your greater convenience, Tempus Hair Restoration offers a two-night complimentary hotel stay to out-of-town clients who travel 100 miles or more to our Port Orange, Florida, surgical center. No matter how far the distance, we welcome the opportunity to help you on your hair restoration journey!