FUE – WAW System

The Advanced WAW system of hair transplantation has made follicular unit extraction (FUE) quicker, simpler, and more productive than older style strip excision and follicular unit transplant (FUT) methods. However, it does come with a certain number of challenges that have been solved by this leading-edge device. These include:

• Scalp tissue is thick and resistant. This made it difficult to work out the exact depth of penetration needed to free the graft without damaging it yet creating the minimal amount of trauma. With the WAW system, this issue has been largely solved.
• WAW provides the ideal type of excision – a very sharp skin-penetrating cut and after that a gentle hair follicle excision to free the fat that grows around the hair shaft. The WAW technique gives maximum yield.
• This device offers excellent flexibility in removing follicular units. Units differ in shape and some contain as many as four hairs. They grow in a cone shape, becoming wider at their base. To harvest each one without trauma, the punch width needs to increase when it is at the base of the follicle. By enabling the surgeon to increase the punch diameter as they go deeper, the risk of trauma to the follicular unit or surrounding follicles is greatly reduced.

WHAT IS THE WAW SYSTEM?

The WAW system of hair transplant was developed by Dr. Jean Devroye, a Belgium-based hair transplant surgeon. He’s a leader in the field and came up with the WAW system in 2016. It’s a hand-held system that Dr. Devroye originally didn’t develop for sale, but for his own use. He wasn’t satisfied with existing machines and almost gave up on the traditional FUE technique because of them. He had the idea of modifying the instruments after observing a Turkish doctor using a flat punch. Dr. Devroye went back to his practice and modified his punches.

The WAW FUE system uses a uniquely shaped extraction device, developed to closely mirror the natural shape of the follicular unit, which fans wider at the base. This innovation allows Dr. Kelemen to excise a larger quantity of high-quality grafts without creating a larger incision, reducing the risk of damaging healthy follicular units.

How does the WAW System work?
The WAW FUE extraction device has a suction feature during the punch, increasing the speed of the hair follicle extraction and reducing procedure time. The WAW FUE System offers both a dull and sharp punch to penetrate the skin with significantly less trauma. The trumpet-shaped punch can both oscillate and rotate, allowing for deeper penetration to the hair shaft without damaging the follicular unit. This is essential in the survival of the follicle after being moved to the recipient site.

The WAW FUE system has the lowest transaction (an incision placed across a follicle, damaging it) rate of all FUE devices, reported at less than 4 percent. It not only preserves the health of the harvested follicle but also produces a graft with an increased rate of survival.

The WAW FUE system creates a circular incision far smaller, about 0.8 to 0.9mm, speeding healing and limiting visible scarring. The WAW FUE hair transplant system has made FUE (follicular unit excision) faster, easier, and more productive.

By utilizing the handheld WAW FUE system, Dr. Kelemen is able to harvest grafts from areas that are not able to be harvested by either robotic FUE devices or traditional strip methods.  By using the WAW FUE system she is able to obtain more grafts.

She is also able to perform hybrid procedures where she can utilize multiple methods of hair restoration such as the robotic FUE or strip method and then come in and use the WAW FUE system to harvest previously unobtainable grafts which give the patient the most hair possible.

Minimally invasive follicular unit excision (FUE) has many advantages over the traditional strip excision!

If you are considering an FUE hair transplant in Scottsdale, you want it to be as comfortable, painless, and effective as possible – with results that look entirely natural. With the WAW FUE system, hair transplant technology has reached a higher level of efficiency and success. This approach brings the following benefits, to you, the patient:

• Faster harvesting of healthy follicles
• Less risk of damaging the surrounding healthy hair follicles
• The high follicle survival rate
• Smaller incisions
• Faster healing
• Precision control for superior outcomes
• Works on all hair types
• Leaves no linear scar

Devroye Instruments
Dr. Kelemen is part of a handful of doctors that have mastered all three types of hair transplant FUT (Strip) and FUE (ARTAS Robotic and WAW system)! This unique ability allows Dr. Kelemen to offer hybrid hair transplants where the latest technology is combined to yield that most natural-looking hair with minimal scarring.

Contact Us or call Hair 4 Life at (480) 525-4547 to schedule an appointment and get your free consultation.