Hair transplant options
If you want to restore the former glory of your hair and decide to have hair transplantation you also have to choose which procedure would you like to use. We will give you some insight on how the most advanced techniques work.
FUE: follicular unit extraction
The most widely known procedure is follicular unit extraction (or follicular transfer), or simply FUE. It is a fairly simple method: doctors obtain naturally occurring follicular units (1-4 hairs) individually from the donor area for transplantation. It is a fairly complicated procedure and there are not many surgeons who are able to perform the procedure flawlessly, as it takes a lot of experience and a mastery of the very complex tools.
FUT technique A disadvantage of FUE that it often leaves scars – little non-pigmented dots, which will be small and most people won’t even be able to notice them. Actually they are mostly only noticeable if the patient shaves their head completely.
FUE2
This is a more advanced version of traditional FUE. In the case of the latter the donor follicles are extracted manually by the surgeon, with FUE2 however it is done by an automatic device. Clinics and companies advertising the FUE2 technique claim it results in no scarring as opposed to FUE.
FUE2 is not an entirely different technique, more like an advanced, more automated approach of FUE. It is not to be confused with Advanced FUE which allows the surgeons to create larger donor pools by not concentrating only on acquiring follicles from the head but also from other parts of the body. Get a free hair transplant consultation and a quote in the UK and Ireland.
FUT
Follicular unit transplantation is the method of transplanting hair from the scalp to the donor areas of the head. It a simpler procedure than FUE, because follicles are not harvested individually but in strips containing thousands of units. This also leads to one of the greatest and rarely discussed disadvantages of the process: scarring. Patients will have strip-like scars on their head – which will not be visible for those who want to achieve a full head of hair, but for those who prefer a shorter style this can be a deciding factor.
It is one on of the most advanced hair restoration techniques. If performed properly, the restored hair will be indistinguishable from naturally growing hair.
SHE: single hair extraction
This was originally a technique which would allow for the breaking up of follicular units, thus multiplying them, but it was only used experimentally and later discarded. Many clinics still use the term, but mostly they refer to SFE, single follicle extraction – which is basically the same as FUE.