What are FUE & FUT Hair Transplant Procedure
HAIR TRANSPLANT SURGERY
According to Wikipedia, hair transplantation is a surgical technique that removes hair follicles from one part of the scalp, called the ‘donor site’, to a bald or balding part of the scalp known as the ‘recipient site’. In layman’s terms, transplanting hair on a bald scalp is known as hair transplantation. The hair transplant procedure is broadly categorized into:-
FUE Hair Transplant Surgery
Follicular Unit Extraction, generally known as FUE is one of the two modern hair transplant techniques. The FUE hair transplant surgery involves the extraction of naturally occurring groups of hairs and transplanting these to the area of the bald scalp. These groups of hair are majorly extracted from the sides of the head or back of the neck of the donor area of the scalp, using a specialized extraction instrument. These hair follicles are then transferred to the recipient or bald area of the scalp followed by implantation with the help of a dynamic stereo microscope. Hair transplant clinics in Varanasi should take great caution to implant the hair follicles at the correct angle to mimic the old hair of the patient or recipient, just as it would naturally grow.
For an idle patient for hair transplantation, one must have healthy hair growth at the back and sides of the head, to serve as a donor area of the scalp for hair follicles to be harvested from. For a successful FUE hair transplant surgery, the FOX test is a must which checks the tightness with which hair follicular units are held in the dermis varies. If the patient is FOX-positive, the surgeon can go ahead with the FUE hair transplant technique.
Advantages:-
- Ability to spot short hair
- Microscopic scars in the donor area of the scalp are almost invisible
- No need to visit the surgeon or consultant again for stitch removal.
Disadvantages:-
- This technique involves very fine trimming of donor hair which makes the hair look thin.
- During the surgery, the patient has to lie in the prone position which adds to the discomfort.
- Only one case can be done in one day, which makes the surgery more costly than FUT.
FUT Hair Transplant Surgery
Follicular Unit Transplantation, more commonly known as FUT is a widely accepted technique. The FUT hair transplant technique is most suitable for offering high-density hair transplants on a patient’s scalp. This surgery involves the strip removal of follicular units from the donor area of the scalp followed by the insertion of these follicular units into the recipient or bald area of the scalp. The removed hair follicular units are naturally occurring units which if transplanted well, will replicate the patient’s natural hair growth in the bald area of the scalp.
The respective patient must possess a healthy donor part, i.e., the back and sides of the scalp to fulfill the cosmetic goal of the hair transplant surgery. The scalp must be free from autoimmune disease and the patient should not be affected with DUPA (Diffuse Un-Patterned Alopecia) or diffused un-patterned hair loss.
Advantages:-
- The best option is if the patient needs a large number of hair follicles grafted.
- Shorter operation time than FUE.
- Cheaper than FUE transplant surgery.
Disadvantages:-
- Causes FUT scarring, i.e., leaves a scar at the site of hair removal.
- Leads to inflammation of hair follicles.
- The transplanted hair looks certainly unnatural