This is the question on everyone’s mind, what is FUE, or follicular unit extraction? To simply put, it is extracting a hair follicle from a donor area from the body, in most cases back of the head, with its root like a plant. Then, this unit of hair is inserted into the area where there is no longer hair or a denser look is desired.
In Fue procedure, each graft is harvested one by one. Each graft consists of 1-4 hair follicles.
The extraction procedure requires the use of the punch, a machine that is between 0.6mm and 1.0mm in diameter that collects grafts.
Then, these grafts are planted into the scalp one by one. The angle and density of each follicle determine the success of the outcome.
Thanks to the technological advancements, anesthetics make this kind of procedure less painful. This procedure usually takes 6-8 hours, and moving 2,500 grafts per day is accepted to be the optimal goal for a day.
Usually, after Norwood 4, the total number of grafts needed is above 3,000. In these type of surgeries, two sessions take place in two consecutive days.
It takes a few days for the scalp to stop bleeding or anesthetics leaking. After a week, the patient will have significantly less discomfort and pain. Also, due to advancements in medicine, post-surgery is rarely painful.
Hair transplants are permanent. After the surgery, the transplanted hair will shed for only one time, and then the new hair will regrow for countless cycles.
Sooner or later, patients end up in a place where they have to make a choice, FUE or FUT. Although each procedure has positives, it is an accepted fact today that FUE is a better solution with less pain and more benefit at the end.
Moreover, we see new technologies developed every day with different names. Eventually, they all become a trend for some time but after seeing the results, all the surgeons come back to FUE.