Megasessions: Large Sessions

As techniques have improved so has our ability to transplant a greater number of grafts in a single session. Today, the size of a transplant session can range from as little as 100 grafts to as large as 4,500 (or more). The appropriate session size for a patient is determined by many factors (i.e. patient goals, degree of hair loss, presence of pre-existing hair, donor density, scalp laxity, etc.). There are benefits gained from larger sessions (faster results, less down time, etc.), but there are also increased risks (poor graft survival, increased donor scarring, increased length of surgery, etc.). With appropriate patient selection and the proper technique, the risks can be kept to a minimum. It is important to remember that all patients are different; some are good candidates for larger sessions others are better served with smaller sessions. At SMG, we have the ability to do both large and small sessions, depending on the individual patient.

Below are examples of a megasessions (4,400 grafts) and a moderate case (2,300 grafts).

Case 1: Above is an example of a patient who fit the criteria for a megasession consisting of 4,400 FU grafts. This patient had a large area to cover, had good laxity in his donor area, good donor density, very little residual hair to injure, and was not worried about a scar in the donor area.

Case 2: This is a more moderate-size case of 2,200 grafts. This approach was chosen because the patient only needed to cover the front third, had a tighter scalp with poorer density, was worried about a scar if he cut his hair short, and was about to start Propecia®, which had the possibility of maintaining his crown. These are examples of two different situations requiring two different approaches with two successful outcomes.