FUE Transplantation vs. Strip Method

FUE TransplantationQ:

Hello,
I wanted to get more information like FUE transplantation vs. strip hair transplant. I have been doing a lot of reading. How do you know if one is best and using a FOX test? I like the idea of the FUE but hear many claims that it is not good. However, I am not a big fan of getting a piece of my skin taken off. There is so much different information. Also all the normal questions that come with the procedure. I hope to hear from you.

Thank you for taking the time to read this,

A:

That is a great question! I realize that there is a large amount of conflicting information on the Internet, especially relating to new technology and surgical techniques.

Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) is a method we use to remove hair follicular units individually rather than taking a strip of the scalp and dissecting it into follicular units.

Simply looking at the facts, there are many hair restoration centers which may market one method as being supperior to the other for the cold truth they are capable of performing it. They may lean towards recommending one particular procedure over the other for money making purposes.

If performed correctly, the FUE transplantation is a great solution for some hair loss sufferers, especially those with minimum hair loss or those avoiding a scar on their scalp. We also use FUE for people who suffer from significant pain or donor complications with previous strip procedure, and those with a violated donor area for which removing more hair through strip is impossible.

With that said, most hair transplant surgeries are done through the strip method for many reasons:

  • Strip hair transplantation gives liberty to the surgeon to maximize the quality and viability of the hair follicles. We anticipate some number between 1-5% as the highest for a trans-section of hair follicles (damaged follicles) in microscopic strip hair transplantation. This rate of success is because all the grafts are  harvested under 3-D magnifications using stereotactic microscopes.
  • In FUE cases, patients may have a high trans-section rate and some of the transplanted hair may never grow into healthy hair. The trans-section rate might be very low in most people, with an average of 0 to 10%. However, in some people it might be significantly higher based on the hair’s characteristics. The  FOX test is a procedure that should be done for some patients with curly or wavy hair.  The FOX test can determine the patients who are not good candidates for an FUE procedure. It is basically a small FUE transplant that determines the levels of a trans-section to the hair follicles in the process of extracting them.
  • In an FUE transplantation, we may harvest up to 1500  in one session. Sessions larger than that keep hair grafts outside the body for a long period of time that may jeopardize the grafts’ survival.
  • Today, we have many methods, such as trichophytic closure to minimize the visibility of the hair transplant donor scar in strip methods.
  • The cost of FUE is higher since it is more labor intensive and requires more specialized artistic skill.

If you are considering to have a FUE transplant, I highly recommend having an evaluation by a hair transplant surgeon who is skilled in both FUE transplantation and strip method before you decide which procedure is right for you. A qualified hair transplant surgeon can discuss all your options so you can make an informed decision about how to restore your hiar.