Refined FUE – Mamba
Mamba FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) is a type of modified follicular unit extraction technique. It is a refinement over the normal FUE that we perform. The main different components are:
To understand each of these we need to look at each component and compare it with normal FUE.
- Use of mamba device (Trivellini Device) to extract hairs.
- Immediate insertion of the hairs.
- Insertion via the no root touch technique (Implanter Technique).
- Use of Mamba device (Trivellini Device)
This Instrument is used for extraction of the hairs or grafts from the back of the head. In normal FUE, we use a rotatory device for extraction. The hair graft is more strongly attached in the upper part of the skin, and as we go deeper we notice that the attachment between the hair and surroundings becomes more and more flimsy or loose. So logically, we need more force in the upper part where the attachment of hairs is stronger, and as we go deeper we need lesser force as the attachment in the deeper part is not so strong.
In normal FUE, as we are using only rotational force, we are entering with strong force in the upper part of the skin, as we do not have any means to reduce the force as we go in, we enter the deeper parts with the same strong force that we used in the upper part. These rotational devices have only one phase (Monophasic devices) and we cannot reduce the force as we proceed. So we are applying a strong force in the deeper part where we have the important root segment of the hairs. The chances of damage to the deeper part are increased in these kinds of devices.
Dr Trivellini from Paraguay, identified this part, and he devised the Mamba device, which is a biphasic device. In this device we have different kinds of movements like Rotation, Oscillation and Vibration. We also have the option of changing from one kind of movement to another seamlessly. The force with which we want the movement to happen can also be changed.
We keep rotation movement in the upper part of the skin, as this is the part that has maximum attachment of the hairs, and needs a strong force to act here. And as we go deeper we can change the type of movement and force of movement. So in the deeper part we have the option to use oscillatory force. Oscillatory force is a weaker force when compared to a rotational force. Such that the chances of damage to the deeper part of the hair root is reduced.
The benefits of getting a very good graft increases dramatically with biphasic devices. We are one of the first to use mamba device in India. We believe that the better the graph we get, the better is the results that we can achieve.
Immediate Insertion of Grafts:
In normal FUE, first we turn the patient prone and then we remove all the graft from the back and sides of the head. It can take about two to three hours sometimes to extract the grafts. All this time the grafts are lying out of the body. After removing the grafts we turn the patient straight and we make slits in the front part to insert the grafts into the body. This could take about 30 minutes to 40 minutes. All this while the grafts, that we have extracted from the body, are lying outside.
They are part of your body and the sooner they are inserted back into the body the better it is for the survival of the grafts. In mamba FUE we turn the patient on one side and extract the grafts, from the back of the scalp that is exposed to us. And then we simultaneously start the insertion of the grafts into the front side. Hence the waiting Period of the graft out of the body is reduced, in other words we have reduced the out-of-body time of the grafts. The sooner we insert the grafts, the better is the survival of the grafts.
No Root Touch Technique For Graft Insertion (Implanter Technique)
We can insert the graphs using a forceps. In doing this we generally catch the root of the graft and insert it into the slit. There is always a chance of some damage to the roots. Imagine if we were to put a rose plant into the soil, we would take all efforts not to damage the roots while inserting the plant into the ground. We use the same no root touch technique here.
We can insert the graft into the body by using an implanter. Here we hold the graft from the top part and not from the root and using an implanter to dilate the slit and we just guide the graph into the slit. Thereby reducing any chances of damage to the grafts. There are Sharp and Blunt implanters. Principally they serve the same purpose of graft insertion without touching the roots. The Blunt implanters (KEEP IMPLANTERS) gives more more control in insertion of grafts, and we can give a higher density with the blunt implanters.
