Abstract
Objectives:
Storage of hair transplant grafts after harvesting and before implantation is a critical step that is often considered passive. However, it involves proper hydration, segregation, total and segregated counting, ergonomic arrangement in chronological order of harvesting, and eventual pickup and implantation using forceps or an implanter following the first-out first-in principle. The objective of this article is to systematically compare the available graft storage devices with respect to the functions they serve and to describe an innovative Smart Storage Device that serves all the ideal functions identified.
Material and Methods:
The available graft storage devices were identified, and their functional characteristics were analyzed. These included: (1) glass or stainless-steel petri-dishes with gauze/Telfa, (2) petri/stainless-steel/plastic dishes without gauze, (3) wooden spatula with gauze, (4) Teflon or similar plates with depressions, and (5) the authors' innovative smart storage device. Each device was evaluated against a set of ideal characteristics identified by the authors, including ability for graft segregation, simultaneous total and individual counting, ergonomic arrangement, individual graft inspection, spacing between grafts, ease of graft pick-up from upper one-third, prevention of dehydration, adherence to first-out first-in chronology, accuracy of graft count, number of staff required, risk of gauze thread contamination, speed of implantation facilitation, quality control in FUT, cooling possibility, and transparency of graft count. The advantages and disadvantages of all devices were tabulated.
Results:
All available devices provide adequate hydration of the grafts. However, the conventional devices — petri-dishes with or without gauze, wooden spatula with gauze, and Teflon plates with depressions — fail to simultaneously address multiple critical functions, including simultaneous total and segregated counting, individual graft inspection, single-handling of grafts, ease of pick-up from the upper one-third, and accurate count of implanted and remaining grafts with a single technician. The innovative smart storage device — made from Teflon or similar material with multiple numbered depressed spaces, each containing 9 partitions, making 10 narrow troughs — fulfills all identified ideal characteristics. It allows one-time handling of grafts by a single technician while achieving simultaneous segregation, total and individual counting, ergonomic arrangement, precision graft inspection, and complete transparency of graft numbers. In FUT cases, individual technicians are allocated separate plates, enabling direct quality control by the surgeon.
Limitations:
Segregation & arranging the grafts in an ergonomic way following the chronological order takes little more time and effort for the technician initially. So there is a small learning curve
Conclusion:
Storage of grafts between harvesting and implantation is a critical and active step that deserves the same attention given to harvesting and implantation techniques. The innovative smart storage device addresses all the ideal characteristics that existing storage devices fail to fulfill simultaneously. It enables simultaneous segregation and total and segregated counting with one-time handling of the grafts by a single technician, ergonomic arrangement in chronological order, precise individual graft inspection, facilitation of implantation speed, quality control in FUT, and complete transparency to the patient. Adoption of this device has the potential to reduce procedure time, staff requirements, graft handling damage, and improve overall outcomes in hair transplantation.