Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)

Hi Ed,

It´s been a long time since we talked ....How you doing?...I´m really happy with the results of the procedure, I´m able to cut my hair #2 and my scar is invisible....I want to thank you for everything. You and Dr. Epstein are 2 professionals that I trust and respect.

Thank you one more time,
Jorge

* Patient had FUE grafts into a donor site scar from a prior strip hair transplant

Incisionless Hair Transplants

Jeff.

You know as much, if not more about FUE than anyone else in the field. The fact is, hair transplantation is a very specialized skill that can not be learned over night. The NeoGraft® machine doesn't do the transplant, the surgeon and his team are responsible for the outcome. That's the point I'm trying to drive home and I think you're in a perfect position to discuss this point.

Your credentials don't hurt either:)

Spencer Kobren, Editor, The Bald Truth

Mr. Kobren is considered the world's consumer advocacy expert in the hair transplantation world

What is Follicular Unit Extraction?

For more than 10 years, follicular unit grafting (FUG) has been the procedure of choice for hair transplanting. With this technique, every graft is dissected one at a time from a single donor strip, by a team of experienced assistants using microscopes, then planted into tiny incisions in the scalp. Performed artistically, FUG can create truly natural appearing results. This donor strip incision is sutured closed, healing in over 90% of our patients as a fine line scar 2 mm or less in width, usually permitting hair to be trimmed with as short as a #3 razor, sometimes a #2. And with the innovative plastic surgery HITS technique developed by Dr. Epstein, hairs can actually grow through the scar.

The follicular unit extraction technique (FUE), unlike FUG, avoids a donor site incision- instead, the grafts are harvested one at a time with tiny 0.8 mm punches which then heal as essentially undetectable dots in the scalp. The result- patients have a hair transplant yet can cut their hair even shorter than they could with the "strip" method, even shave their head, without having any detectable donor site scar. A newer technique, FUE is not offered by most surgeons because it is technically challenging. While FUE in no way makes obsolete the technique of follicular unit grafting, it can be the best procedure for patients who are: young; usually male; keeping open the option of shaving their head; African-American; and/or having reparative work and have a limited supply of donor hair. The FUE procedure can also obtain grafts that can be then placed into a donor site scar from a prior procedure.

To increase the potential donor supply for hairs, some patients can have hairs harvested from other parts of the body that can then be implanted into the scalp where they will then grow. These body hairs- such as from the chest, beard, and legs- can be difficult to extract in some individuals, and sometimes don't grow as long nor as thick as scalp hairs. However, for patients with a low supply of scalp donor hairs, usually due to prior transplants, these FUE obtained body hairs, along with those obtained from the scalp, can provide extra coverage.

In a typical FUE case, 900 to 1500 grafts can be obtained in a single day, due to the extra time (8 hours or so) required for this meticulous work. Many patients will have two procedures over two days, allowing for 1800 to 2400 FUE grafts total. As FUE cases now constitute almost one-third of the procedures performed in this office, enthusiasm for the technique, appreciation of the advantages for the right patient, and the quality of the outcomes is outstanding.

Together in consultation with the doctor, the right procedure will be decided upon, after careful consideration of your goals and the nature of your hair loss.