Artas FUE hair transplant, unsuccessful (Photo)

Dear aquanda,
Thank you for posting this question. There are several reasons why a hair restoration will fail, and nearly 100% of the time it is the failure of the surgeon and his team to perform the operation properly. It’s not an easy procedure, and just because a given physician has acquired the ARTAS robot is by no means a guarantee of a good, nor even acceptable result. The robot is not like a car wash where you stick your head in a “presto” out comes your head with all the hair moved to it’s new location. Instead, think of the ARTAS system as a paintbrush….it’s merely a tool. No paintbrush of any value can guarantee a beautiful painting. Same with the ARTAS system. It helps the surgeon perform one of the many aspects of hair transplant surgery; most of the procedure is still done by hand. It is not the technology, but the talent, experience, dedication and long track record of success of the physician and his team of technicians that will determine the cosmetic outcome of a hair transplant procedure. Every single time. Ask yourself: if this doctor failed like this the first time, why would you expect a different result the second time around? I hope this information is helpful to you.
Kind Regards,
Ken Anderson, MD, FISHRS

The ARTAS is just one tool in the hair transplantation process.  Every step is critical including the harvest of hairs (using the ARTAS correctly, setting parameters, etc), placement of hairs, use of supportive factors such as regenerative medicine to encourage growth, etc.  Hair transplantation takes an expert in the field with a team who is passionate as well surrounding the surgeon or surgeons.  In my practice, we utilize 2 surgeons and the latest in regenerative technology to help maximize chances for your success.  Best Dr. Anil Shah

ARTAs is only an instrument. It is not a different type of surgery or guarantee results.  The key to best result is finding the best doctor.
Example: Owning a sail boat doesn't mean the owner knows know to sail (or sail well).

Of course you did.  Thats because most practices using an Artas have no clue what they are doing, they have the Artas run by assistants and not the doctor, they end up damaging the donor zone, damaging the grafts, and then patients realize what a mistake they made.I would recommend you get multiple opinions from experienced surgeons in your area. Returning to the same surgeon who gave you unfavorable results prior may not be the wisest decision. 
Multiple opinions will allow you to hear various solutions to the problems in your specific case. Before making any decisions about which type of surgery to go forward with for your second hair transplant, please read up on robotic hair transplants and the risks associated with them. Overall, we see lower graft survival and increased risk of scarring in robotic transplants. Therefore, I always recommend hair transplants done by hand. Feel free to read more about the pros and cons of different surgeries on my site.

Thanks for sharing and very unfortunate to hear that the procedure did not meet your expectations.  It would be a great idea to meet with your surgeon and ask for an opportunity to redo the procedure at a discounted price.

Failure from a hair restoration can occur for many reasons. ARTAS is a technology that needs to be used by a skilled, experienced surgeon. Curly hair can be a more technically challenging procedure and one the surgeon must have extensive experience in dealing with. I would recommend scheduling a second opinion with a board-certified plastic surgeon that has extensive experience and expertise in Artas Robotic Hair Restoration before requesting any type of compensation from the original surgeon. You may find they recommend another method other than ARTAS given your hair type. While ARTAS does not guarantee results, it is still worth being assessed by another qualified doctor.

I agree with my colleague, Mark, that PRP and bio-enhanced holding solutions can improve success and we routinely do this with all of our ARTAS procedures.  I personally find that curly hair transplants with ARTAS get great results however as the curls tend to take up more volume- this said, it is more of a technically challenging procure and the ARTAS center must be comfortable adjusting their depths and angles to minimize curly hair transections.  We have developed protocols for every hair type and ethnicity with the ARTAS robot and have had great results across the board.  This said, new practices or those with out significant experience may find themselves struggling with these more complicated cases.  Before you consider asking your doc for a discount for a touch up procedure, you may want to consider getting a second opinion, because the last thing you want is another unsuccessful procedure and all you have to say for it is less donor hair.  Best of luck to you!

Wiry or curly hair is not always the best type of hair for ARTAS FUE.  Also, better survival will be seen with he use of bio enhanced solutions at the time of transplantation.  

There may be some benefit to considering a pre treatment with LLLT and using PRP at time of the transplant, 30days and 60 days post to achieve maximum results.


Mark Bishara, MD, FISHRS
Paragon Hair Clinics, DFW, Texas

Unfavorable results may occur for any number of reasons.  I would encourage you to have a second opinion by a physician that is able to do FUE by additional methods other than ARTAS.   ARTAS may not be the best way to harvest your grafts but this decision can only be made by an experienced hair restoration surgeon.

Are you currently in any medical treatment for hair loss? FUE Donor harvesting is only 1 of the 6 steps of the hair transplant surgery, so there are several hair transplant phases that can impact the results. It is fair to suggest you to discuss the results with your hair surgeon at 15 months PO again. Also, another good option is to look for 2nd opinion at your location.