During a hair transplant surgery, the surgeon extracts healthy hair follicles from the back of the scalp, which is the “donor site.” The hair follicles of the donor site then go into the balding area, referred to as the “receiving site,” via microscopic incisions.
The back of the scalp is the donor area not only for the similarity of the hair but also because hair from there is thinning-resistant. Once grafted, it’ll grow as strong as it should in the donor area and keep its thinning-resistant properties.
With hair transplant surgery described this way, one can see how the donor area is central to the whole process.
It will be subject to considerable amounts of stress in order to extract the necessary hair follicles to carry out the procedure. Hair transplant patients need to take care of the appearance and state of the donor area before and after the surgery.
Donor Area Before and After Hair Transplant
There are two major variations of the hair transplant procedure, each one with their own style regarding how to handle the donor area.
In both, the extraction of hair from the back of the scalp takes place, but the manner of extraction differs notably, as does the aftercare.
Therefore, the donor area’s before-and-after appearance will depend on the type of hair transplant.
Donor Area Before and After FUT Hair Transplant
A follicular unit transplant (FUT) is a hair transplant technique invented in 1994. When performing it, the surgeon takes a long strip of hair from the donor area of the patient by making a long, horizontal incision across it.
After extracting it, the strip of hair now goes under a microscope for dissection to extract individual hair follicles. Also, each hair follicle extracted receives the name “follicular unit” during the surgery.
A single strip of hair has around 1,500 follicular units ready for extraction. The procedure, however, leaves a long, straight, horizontal scar on the back of the head from the incision. The surrounding hair can cover it once it grows, but it’d be quite noticeable still. This is the reason why better procedures were sought and developed.
Donor Area Before and After FUE Hair Transplant
The follicular unit excision (FUE) is the latest on hair transplant surgery. During it, the surgeon extracts follicular units from the donor site by making an incision with a scalpel that is 1 mm or less in diameter. After making the initial cut, they rotate the scalpel around the hair to cut the remaining surrounding tissue. Once freed, they extract the follicular unit using forceps.
The procedure takes the follicular units one by one directly from the site. Due to this, it takes a little longer to perform. However, it also doesn’t leave a long scar. Instead, the incisions look like tiny round points on the scalp, which will scab upon healing. The scabs shed eventually, and the surrounding hair will cover the diminutive scars.
Donor Area Before and After Hair Transplant: The Verdict
In summary, the donor area after a FUT surgery would have a long, noticeable scar. On the other hand, only little and easily concealed dots will be the only visible change in your donor area after an FUE surgery.
This said difference makes the FUE procedure the superior option on hair transplants. If you think this procedure is the solution for you, contact our surgeons to see if you are a viable candidate for it.