Over the decades Follicular Unit Extraction is prefered mostly comparing to FUT method for extraction of Folliucular Units allows us to extract micro follicular units one by one.
Hair transplantation is a minor surgical procedure by which hair from regions of the scalp that normally never go bald, such as the sides and lower back of the head, is transferred or redistributed into areas of permanent hair loss or thinning. Excellent hair transplantation requires an in depth knowledge of hair loss and surgery skills. An important knowledge that an excellent surgeon must have to avoid unsafe and unethical approach for patient in order not to harm patients safe donor area by fixing his recipient area.
Mild sedation is used and patients are fully aware and can converse with the surgical team during the operation. Patients must eat and drink before the operation. This ensures that the whole procedure is more comfortable.
Careful planning is first utilized to design a hairline according to the patient’s wishes, and following generally accepted guidelines. The recipient bald or thinning area is carefully evaluated and marked.
In Follicular Unit Extraction “FUE” procedures, using local anaesthesia, individual hair grafts are removed one by one from the donor area using a punch tool. No sutures are needed. Patients will normally be required to shave their entire head in advance of an FUE hair transplant. Following this procedure the patient will be left with multiple pale circular scars spread over a large area. For large FUE procedures it may be necessary to carry out the procedure over two days.
Regardless of the methods of extraction the follicular unit grafts are then carefully prepared, trimmed, and then placed into the recipient sites made in the bald or thinning scalp. In most cases, grafts of various sizes are artistically placed in zones, in order to achieve the desired final appearance. Another session may be necessary to complete a hair transplant project, the sessions usually being separated by a minimum time interval of 6 months, to allow time for the blood vessel system to return to full strength and for the new hair to grow out.
A graft simply refers to a follicular unit, which may be a 1-hair, 2-hair, 3-hair, 4-hair, or even a 5-hair follicular unit graft. When hair transplants are performed, the single hair grafts (or follicular units) are inserted into the frontal hairline. Just behind the hairline, the 2-hair follicular unit grafts are placed to add density to the hairline, and behind these are the larger grafts to ultimately add density to the entire scalp and hair restoration procedure. The following diagram shows a close up of 1-hair, 2-hair, and 3-hair follicular unit grafts.
Future grafting sessions may be needed as balding progresses in the years to come. The actual pattern and speed of loss in any particular person is hard to predict.
When the local anaesthetic has worn off, usually after 6-8 hours, the scalp may feel a bit tight and uncomfortable but this soon goes. Simple painkillers such as Solpadine, etc, will help.Some crusting may occur around the grafts. Intensive spraying in the immediate post-operative period will prevent this to a large extent. Any crusting must not be scratched as the grafts may be pulled out. The grafted area of scalp will appear slightly pinker than usual for a few days but this soon passes.
The tiny hair that is transplanted in the graft normally falls out within the first 3-4 weeks. The new hair will then grow from the hair root and will be noticeable by approximately 4 months and carry on growing as fast and as long as your normal hair, usually about 1cm a month. A post-operative check-up is carried out after 6 months and an assessment of the final outcome of surgery is normally made after 18 months when the grafts are fully grown