In order to pick out hair follicles for ahair transplant, we use a drill, or punch as we also call it. The drill is shaped like a cylinder, a fine tube, and made of high quality steel. It is important that the drill is sharp enough. The blunter the drill, the greater the risk of damaging the tissue.
To remove a hair follicle, the drill is placed over the follicle itself – here it is important to leave a little margin so as not to damage the follicle – and then the follicle is picked out. Strand by strand.
It’s a tough job, suitable only for those with very good eyesight and a very steady hand. The work can be compared to normal gardening, when plants are picked with a round spade.
The spade must be large enough not to damage the plant. The same applies to the drill. We want to avoid damaging the hair follicle.
A common question we get is how big our drills are. “Well, how big are your hair follicles?“, we usually answer as a joke.
This is a difficult question to answer and depends entirely on the shape of the patient’s hair follicles. The size of the hair follicles determines everything. The coarser the hair, the bigger the drill.
We adjust the diameter of the drill according to the shape of the patient’s hair follicles. Of course, we need to have enough scope so that we don’t cut into the hair follicle.
We simply have to have some cutting marginal. We don’t want to damage the hair follicles.
