Surgical hair restoration of hair loss, whether to restore density of thinning hair or to fill patchy balding areas of the scalp, is basically a two-step procedure.
The first being the harvesting of hair for implant grafts and the second being the placement of those prepared hair grafts into the recipient sites.
The section of the scalp or donor site where the hair follicles gathered for creation of graft implants is the back of the scalp – horizontally from the middle running from ear to ear. Hair grafts are harvested from this section as they will grow as permanent hair follicles. These follicles are not susceptible to the hair loss traits resulting in the loss of hair from the top of the head such as Male Pattern Balding.
Hair follicles for grafting can be gathered in one of two methods – Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) and Follicular Unit Transplant (FUT).
Surgical Hair Restoration Before And After Patient’s Photos
View More Before and After Hair Transplant Photos
The difference in these procedures is how the hair is harvested from the donor site.
When utilizing the Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) method a specialized hair punch tool is used that encircles the hair follicles and removes them by punch extraction.
With Follicular Unit Transplant (FUT), the surgeon removes a thin strip of hair from the donor site that is used to create the hair grafts for transplant.
Transplanting the hair follicles in the recipient site is the same whether FUE or FUT is used to harvest the hair follicles.
Surgical hair restoration is an ever-expanding technologic field. Included in the latest state-of-the art technology is ARTAS, a robotic technique used during a hair transplant that permits the surgeon to digitally control the process.
