Follicular Unit Extraction | FUE Hair Transplant

In our Hair Transplant Turkey page, we give you the general information regarding hair transplantation, most probably you watched MCAN Health Istanbul Hair Transplant Clinic video, you learned how to start your journey to have a hair transplant in Turkey and see some before-after pictures of MCAN Health hair transplant patients.

In this page, we will give you detailed information regarding Follicular Unit Extraction also known as FUE. On 2018, ISHRS (International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery) renamed Follicular Unit Extraction as Follicular Unit Excision to emphasize that it is a surgical graft removal that involves excision of hair and the tissue.

What is Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)?

Follicular Unit Extraction is a procedure for obtaining follicular graft units one by one from donor areas on the scalp that is back of the head between the two ears. On the other hand, Follicular Unit Transplantation is the name of the surgical procedure for transplanting Follicular Units (FUs) into the balding and receding scalp or beard or eyebrows. The Follicular Unit (FU) is a small bundle consisting of 1 to 4 hair strands. In FUE, the Follicular Units are individually excised with a micro-punch and moved from the permanent donor area to the area of hair loss called recipient area. Based on the research by ISHRS, over 90% of hair transplant surgeons in the World are preferring FUE because it does not involve stitches or leave a linear scar as in the case of strip harvesting.

Today FUE is often described as a “minimally invasive” procedure because it does not involve stitches, and the tiny round excisions are left open to heal without sutures.

MCAN Health surgeons prefer FUE Hair Transplant in Istanbul like the other surgeons in the World when it comes to extraction of the grafts from the donor site.

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Is FUE better than Strip Harvesting Method?

In Strip harvesting, the surgeon takes a full thickness ellipse of skin and hair and is referred to as a linear excision, or linear ellipse strip harvesting. After that, the small grafts are individually dissected using a microscope. The wound is closed usually with stitches, and this leaves a linear scar; whereas in FUE, the grafts are collected individually and leave small round scars that can be hidden. Think about a forest where 1 million trees are available. If 10,000 trees are removed from different areas, the human eye may not be able to notice. However if 10,000 tree is removed in a straight line, the eye is more likely to notice a difference.

What is Follicular Unit Transplantation?

The actual transplantation occurs the same for both donor harvesting techniques, FUE and strip harvesting. The grafts are inserted using various tools inside the small slits incised into the skin and underlying tissue by needles or micro blades on the recipient area.

Direct Hair Implantation (DHI) and Percutaneous Hair Transplant are based on the same harvesting method, FUE. However in DHI, canal opening and implantation of the FUs are performed with choi pen at the same moment. In percutaneous hair transplantation, the canals or the holes are opened by the special sapphire blades with superfine needles instead of slits and the holes have a round shape instead of a lateral one.

The Stages of Follicular Unit Transplantation with FUE also known as FUE Hair Transplant

1. Consultation

The individual patient characteristics is determined by hair transplant surgeon during the consultation by considering the cause of hair loss, type of hair loss, likelihood of hair loss progression over future years, hair type (thick or thin), the patient’s wishes for the “look” that he or she wishes to achieve from hair restoration, age, gender and medical history.

During the consultation, hair line is drawn based on the natural hairline and patient wishes and the recipient parts are determined with how many grafts are needed at each area and how many grafts can be collected from the donor site.

2. Preparation

Pre-op tests will be performed and your hair will be trimmed. After that your scalp will be sterilized.

3. Local Anesthesia

Many patients reported that hair transplant is a painless procedure but not the local anesthesia. For the one who can’t stand the pain or afraid of needles, MCAN Hair Transplant Clinic Turkey offers needle free anesthesia.

4. Extraction

Manual punch or micro motor punch are used in extraction and FUs are collected one by one. The size of the punch is determined in the surgery depending on the softness of the tissue of the scalp, the hair type, being curly or not.

When hair follicles are removed from a donor site and transplanted to a recipient site, the follicles should be all physiologically healthy and anatomically intact. Healthy, intact follicles are more likely to thrive and produce hair at the recipient site. That is why an experienced medical staff should do it. Otherwise the transection which is a complication of FUE can happen. A Transection is slicing or tearing FUs at a cross-sectional angle. The damaged follicle(s) in the FU may be useless for transplantation, or fail to thrive if transplanted.

5) Canal Opening

It is the formation of micro cuts into which the hair follicles will be planted. These cuts are very thin slits and determined based on the graft’s width and length in FUE Hair Transplantation. While making slits or holes in the recipient area, it is very important to follow the direction of the existing hair in that region. Present hair growth angle must absolutely be taken into consideration to provide a natural looking hair transplant result. This stage definitely should be performed by an experienced surgeon.

In DHI, FUs are implanted directly into the recipient area suffering from hair loss using a pen called Choi Implanter with a diameter of 1 mm or less without prior creation of holes or slits.

6) Implantation or Graft Insertion

Harvested grafts are typically placed into slits or holes using fine-angled forceps. Two, or even three persons can insert grafts at the same time to make the procedure faster and efficient. In this phase, experienced nurses complete process.

The Hair Transplant Procedure

To watch all the steps explained above, you can check this video to have an idea about FUE Hair Transplant operation step by step.

Results of FUE Hair Transplant

Hair Transplant Aftercare is very crucial and it is the key to have the best FUE Hair Transplant result. You should follow your doctor’s guidance perfectly. To have further information, visit our page: FUE Hair Transplant Aftercare Instructions

Considering the feedback we get from our former patients, after your FUE Hair Transplant with MCAN Health, you will:

• Have an increased self-confidence
• No need to cover your head
• Have a new style
• Feel more attractive
• Feel younger

You can take a look at the results of our procedures here: Before-After