What is the difference between FUE & FUT hair transplants?
FUT VS. FUE
The two principal methods of hair transplant are Follicular Unit Transplant (FUT)/strip and Follicular Unit Excision (FUE) – also known as Follicular Unit Extraction. Both are effective hair restoration techniques, with a high success rate. So what is the difference between them?
The main difference between FUT and FUE hair transplants is that in FUT the surgeon removes a strip of donor skin from which to extract individual follicular units to be transferred to the areas of hair loss, whereas in FUE individual follicular units are excised directly from the scalp.
FUT Method
In the FUT procedure, a strip of hair-bearing skin is removed from the donor area of the scalp, usually the back of the head. This is why FUT is also known as ‘strip’ surgery. The long-term donor hair supply will be influenced by how loose (or lax) the scalp skin is and by how many hairs there are per square centimetre of donor scalp. Generally speaking, the FUT procedure gives access to a greater donor hair yield during a lifetime compared with FUE.
The strip is then placed under high-powered microscopes and the surgical team meticulously divides it into tiny grafts of individual follicular units comprised of one to four hairs. These grafts are placed in a chilled tissue storage solution until they are transplanted. The donor area is stitched up and usually then covered by the surrounding hair. After between 10 and 14 days the stitches are removed and the donor area heals to form a linear scar.
FUE Method
In the FUE procedure the donor area of the scalp is shaved and follicular unit grafts are excised individually, using a 0.8mm to 1mm ‘punch’. The procedure can be carried out manually or using a motorised surgical tool.
Following FUE there will be a series of tiny dot scars on the scalp, but these are so small as to be scarcely noticeable. With multiple FUE procedures more dot scars are accumulated and the hair in the hair in the donor area is gradually thinned out. This is why there is a limited amount of donor hair, which means that surgeons and patients must take care to ensure that there is adequate donor supply for a long term plan.
