Many people are curious about whether an FUE (follicular unit extraction) operation is the right choice for them. Often, after researching the method for a while, they get more questions than answers. We tried to give an overall outlook on this operation below.
How Does FUE Method Work?
In an FUE operation, we aim to transfer healthy hair follicles from the back of the patient’s scalp to the balding areas. To do this, we first extract follicles from the donor area with an electrical device called micromotor. A micromotor has a small tip called a “punch.” Punches vary in size, usually from .6 mm to .9 mm. Sometimes the doctors deem the hair around the back of the scalp is not enough to give a satisfactory coverage. When this is the case, there are other things we can do.
As a supplementation to the scalp, we can take follicles from under the chin and from the chest. The operation is minimally invasive, so the patient does not get permanent scars. On average, the operation takes about six to eight hours.
How Many Grafts Do I Need?
Well, this depends. Among the first two most important factors here are these two questions:
- How much coverage the patient needs?
- How healthy is the donor area?
Physicians usually determine an upper limit so as not to leave a patchy appearance around the donor area. Aggressive harvesting may have undesired effects, especially when the patient has their hair cut short.
How Soon Will I Recover from an FUE Operation?
Each patient has a different healing process. Obviously, age, health, and habits of the patient are the main determining factors here. The donor area usually won’t require extra care after two to three days. About a week after the operation, there will be some crusting on the recipient area. Our team will give you instructions as to how to deal with the crusting.
Often, patients are able to go on with their usual activities three to seven days after the operation. The patients also need to sleep with a neck pillow to avoid friction on their freshly implanted grafts for the first seven days. Some redness is also normal after the operation.
Are There Pros and Cons I Should Be Aware Of?
FUE method is the industry standard in hair transplantation, for a good reason. The FUT method, which is the older method, left the patients with a big, horizontal scar around the back of the patient’s head. This scar also meant that there was a higher risk of complications, and it was more painful. Thus FUE is developed to save the day. FUE recovery time is considerably shorter than its older alternative, and you will not endure scarring.