FOLLICULAR UNIT TRANSPLANTATION (FUT)
The placement of grafts with surgical precision.
Also known as the linear method of hair transplantation.
The Anderson Center for Hair offers expertise in the follicular unit transplantation method – also known as strip surgery – which is a leading type of hair restoration surgery. This technique differs from the follicular-unit excision procedure in how the grafts are extracted. Rather than removing individual hair grafts, a thin strip of tissue about 1.2 to 1.3 cm wide is taken from the back of the head. The individual grafts are then dissected from this strip of tissue and prepared to be transplanted.
The Anderson Center for Hair offers expertise in the follicular unit transplantation method – also known as strip surgery – which is a leading type of hair restoration surgery. This technique differs from the follicular-unit excision procedure in how the grafts are extracted. Rather than removing individual hair grafts, a thin strip of tissue about 1.2 to 1.3 cm wide is taken from the back of the head. The individual grafts are then dissected from this strip of tissue and prepared to be transplanted.
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A COMBINATION OF SURGICAL SKILL AND ARTISTRY
Using this method, following careful anesthesia of the area to make sure it is completely numb from any possible discomfort, a narrow strip of scalp from the permanent zone is removed, and under a dissection microscope, these follicles are separated from each other. The incision is then closed using a facial plastic surgery technique. After healing, there will be a fine line scar, usually 1-2mm in thickness, in the donor area where the hair was taken. This scar is easily hidden by your existing hair in the donor area.
Hair grafting with surgical precision.
A highly specialized instrument is used to create the recipient sites in the areas of hair loss. This needle-like instrument is slightly smaller than the needle used to draw your blood from your arm for lab work. In short, very small recipient sites are created in the area to be transplanted. Each person has different sized follicles, so the recipient-site instrument will be calibrated to the exact size of your individual hair follicle size. As these recipient sites will determine the pattern and direction of the new hair growth, this very critical step is only performed by one of our surgeons.
The follicular units, or grafts, are then placed with surgical precision into the sites prepared for them. The number of grafts transplanted varies from person to person and mainly depends on how much hair you have lost. Typically, around 2,000 grafts, each containing one to three hairs, are transplanted. It is possible to transplant up to 3,500 grafts in a single procedure day.
After the procedure, which typically lasts three to eight hours depending on how much hair is required for transplantation, the patient leaves the office without any bandage and a medical hairnet to cover the newly transplanted hair. Because we are careful to remove the hair from the head and not the neck, after the procedure there won’t be any increased pain from turning your head side to side or up and down. The skin in the area of the wound moves in tandem on either side of the wound, so there is not stretching or pulling on the wound as it heals. This provides for smaller scars and much less pain than if the follicles were removed from the neck.
Most patients are able to return to work the next day, though many decide to take two to three days off from work to allow the follicular unit grafts to securely heal in their new location. If you are traveling and coming in from out of town for your procedure, you are able to fly or drive home the next day.
The sutures are removed 10 days following the procedure. If you are traveling for your procedure, know that the sutures can be removed easily by your local doctor. Alternatively, if you prefer, we can use a dissolvable suture so that there is not a need to return to the Anderson Center for Hair or to your local doctor for suture removal.
FUT HAS HELPED THOUSANDS RESTORE THEIR HAIR
Who is a candidate for the linear method?
If you are experiencing any of the following conditions below, then you are most likely an excellent candidate for the linear method. A consultation with the Anderson Center for Hair is always recommended for evaluation of your specific pattern and cause of hair loss.
- Male-pattern baldness
- Female pattern baldness
- Previous hair transplant surgery
- Corrective hair restoration procedure (pluggy grafts and unnatural appearing grafts)
- High hairlines
