Why robotic hair transplants are much costlier than manual FUE?

Question

I think Robots and computerization brings price down drastically as it may require minimum supervision . I feel it should hve been cheaper than fut. Unless insurance is driving up prices. Will prices for hair transplants using robots come down in future.

Ken Anderson, MD, FISHRS · Answer

Dear pradeepbr,Thank you for posting this question. I think you have a fundamental misunderstanding of robotic technology with respect to hair restoration surgery. 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. It by no means is something in which you can place a patient's head and "minimally supervise" a near-micro plastic surgery. 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.That being said, in terms of cost, $300,000 surgical robotic technology is not free, and costs a lot more than a 50 cent scalpel blade for FUT. There are inherent, fixed costs to using this advanced technology. Of course as the number of robots increases, the price will generally decrease. The QUALITY of the transplant results will also decline as these instruments are being placed in offices that have never before performed a hair transplant. So buyer beware is very important in this field, and it pays to take your time and do your research. Whatever surgeon or clinic you choose, remember to choose one that offers both FUE and FUT. If a clinic is offering only one or the other, that’s a giant red flag. Neither is good for every patient, and so a serious clinic offering serious results will most certainly offer both methods. Look for a surgeon who has been practicing hair restoration surgery exclusively for 5+ years, and doesn't have "hair transplant" in with a long list of other surgical procedures. I hope this information is helpful to you.Kind Regards,Ken Anderson, MD, FISHRS

Anil R. Shah, MD · Answer

The cost of robotic surgery will be higher than manual FUE since their is an inherently better technology involved in the process.  Technology, especially cutting edge robotic technology, costs more.  While it is possible to extract hairs manually with technicians, the main issue with this approach is consistency and hair transection rate.  The other issues with manual extraction are that it is often difficult to determine phase of hair growth, creating a random pattern of hair removal, as well as the quality of the grafts tend to be thinner manually as well.  The 9th generation of robot is a vastly different version than the original and continues to improve with time making consistency and quality improved year after year.  The surgeon involvement is still very critical in planning, artistic positioning, appropriate grafts and just as importantly the medical and regenerative arm of hair transplantation.  Best Anil Shah

Amir Yazdan, MD · Answer

While we often think of machines and robots being 'smarter' or more 'accurate' than humans, this is not the case when it comes to hair transplantation. The use of robotic tools during hair transplant surgery actually increases the patient's risk of excessive scarring, damage to the graft, and low graft survival rate. The robotic technology has not advanced enough to match the quality that is capable from a skilled and experienced hair restoration surgeon's hand. Some things to look out for with robotic transplantation is an oversized punch tool, an over quotation of grafts, and little surgeon involvement. Due to the lack of preciseness, the oversized punch which increases scarring, and the damage caused to follicles from inexperienced staff typically results in poor results, I do not use any of the robotic tools such as Artas or Neograft. From my experience, these machines are not only extremely expensive (resulting in the higher cost you see) but yield poor results. The surgeon most likely chooses a robotic option when they are not confident in their skills or abilities to perform hair transplantation by hand.

Jae Pak, MD · Answer

Cost of cosmetic surgery is highly variable depending on the doctor and the type of procedure.  Robotic surgery may cost more because the robot itself costs over $250,000 and requires constant maintenance and upgrades.

Daniel J. Lee, MD, FACS, ABHRS · Answer

The reason robotic hair transplantation is more expensive is primarily because of the technology.  The robotic device is an expensive piece of equipment and in our practice the transplant surgeon actually runs and monitors the entire harvesting process.  In many practices the robot is run by a technician.  We feel that it is important that the surgeon be intimately involved with all of the steps that the robot performs.    
The procedure using the robot is considered elective surgery and insurance does not cover the expense.

Bernardino Arocha, MD, FISHRS · Answer

pradeepbr,
The cost for ARTAS robotic fue is more because the overhead of using that system makes it more expensive. There is a licensing charge regardless if the graft is usable or not. It is an expensive piece of equipment, that also requires expensive maintenance.

David P. Melamed, MD · Answer

When considering a hair transplant you have to consider the surgeon and the  type of procedure. There are two procedure options: Option 1 is FUT (Follicular Unit Transplantation): traditional method and removes a slice of skin from the back of your head, then follicles are removed from the strip of skin. The follicles are later implanted. The cutting a strip portion and the making sites portion will take the surgeon about two hours.The follicle separation and most of the delivery is done by multiple technicians working with the surgeon.Option 2 is FUE (Follicular Unit Excision): new method that uses manual tools or the ARTAS robot to harvest follicles. No strip of skin and therefore no linear scar. Instead each follicular unit is removed individually. This procedure is much more time-intensive for the surgeon and requires 4+ hours for harvesting, plus an hour for making sites. The FUE can be done either manually with a hand-tool, or using the advanced ARTAS iX robot. Read more here.The FUE procedure eliminates the linear scar seen in the FUT procedure.The price of the procedure will vary based on choosing FUT or FUE. Since FUE is more time intensive, the procedure is more expensive. The typical FUE procedure cost is between $9,500-$12,500.

Glenn Charles, DO · Answer

the answer is quite simple. The ARTAS devise is very expensive, there are more costs involved for the clinic to keep software updates on the machine, service contacts and we pay a royalty every time we use the device. The good news it there are several newer devices that are not as expensive and have no additional fees tom use device that are yielding as good if not better results.

Louis M. Iorio, MD · Answer

Thank you for your question. The ARTAS system is designed to assist with the delicate and difficult process of performing hair grafts and can execute the repetitive and precise surgical movements that are necessary in a procedure from start to finish to deliver unparalleled patient outcomes. However, this process is still under complete supervision by a surgeon and requires just as much planning, experience, dedication and training as any other hair transplant procedure.  
  
That aside, the cost of surgical robotic technology does increase the cost compared to the standard strip procedure. Factoring that in with other cost influencers, which include surgeon’s experience, geographical location, number of grafts needed and so forth, you can understand why robotic hair transplants are costlier than their manual counterparts. At this time, there are only 105 ARTAS devices available worldwide, and as the most advanced hair transplant system currently on the market, demand for it is high.

Justin Rome, MD · Answer

The reason the ARTAS procedure is more costly than a strip (FUT) procedure is the time, skill, and costs associated with it.  As an ARTAS doctor, we not only purchase a very expensive piece of technology (vs a scalpel and stitches or staples with a strip), but also we pay royalties to the company in upwards of $2,000-$3,000 per case, in addition an ARTAS center must invest in considerable time to learn master the tech.  All this said, many offices who offer both ARTAS as well as other procedures may inflate their ARTAS costs to encourage patients to do their higher margin strip or manual FUE procedures.  This is unfortunately very common.  At our center, we only use manual FUE for body hair grafting, and never do the outdated strip procedure, and for that reason we price our ARTAS cases very competitively and never charge by graft.  I suggest if you are serious about a robotic hair transplant, you find a center who really specializes in this procedure and does not offer others, and see a few places before making your final decision.  This is a big decision!  Best of luck.

Why robotic hair transplants are much costlier than manual FUE?

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