- Transection Rates (T Rate) in Hair Transplantation Surgery (HTS) is a very important concept.
- The T Rate is the percentage of damaged or transected hairs compared to the total number of hairs in a sample.
- The T Rate determines the potential yield of transplanted hairs.
- Hair yields and future coverage are also determined by the number of hairs displaced, or the Calculated Density .
- The Calculated Density is the number of hairs in one follicle.
- The T Rate and Calculated Density allow for an objective measure of outcomes and method to correct and improve techniques.
- Therefore, any new technique in HTS must be assessed by these two parameters to show validity for broad use.
- Upon removal of the graft, both the number of hairs in each follicular unit and the number of transected hairs in those follicles were counted and recorded.A low transection rate
-
- A high calculated density
- Which will potentially maximize patient hair yield.
- The above statement validates the use of this technique to a large extent for increasing patient care.
- We just need a good training program (patience, dexterity, IHTI, etc.), the appropriate tools (magnification, depth control, punch size, etc.) and consistency to benefit from the advantages of this breakthrough technique such as:
- Counts were limited to the first hundred harvested grafts.
- Stereoscopic microscope at high power magnification (20x) used.
- Total number of hairs calculated by simple addition.
- We repeated the same process for the number of transected hairs.
- The T Rate = transected hairs/total number of hairs
- The Calculated Density (CD)= total number of hairs/100 follicular units.
- A camera mounted on the microscope was used to confirm the accuracy of the counts.