Strip Method is the technique used for extracting the follicular units. With FUE, a specialized punch with less than 1mm diameter is used to extract the hair from the scalp. The main advantage of this technique is that follicular units are extracted directly form the scalp rather than in larger groups, which obviates the utilization of scalpel and stitching.
On the left you can see a simple diagram showing how follicular units extraction happens. A punch of under 1mnn diameter is placed in the skin to th depth of the hair's root allowing the Hair Transplant Surgeon to remove the hair from the skin without causing damage.
This new non-invasive technique is offered by very few hair transplantation clinics in Singapore. The reason is that very few hair hair transplant surgeons are able to master this difficult technique because FUE requires special know-how and correct practice from the medical team in order to complete this procedure in a way to produce results.
It should also be noted that FUE clinics or individual FUE hair transplant surgeons should be able to demonstrate extensive previous experience in strip surgery and be able to produce documented results. This is the only way that they can prove that they have mastered this hair transplant technique. It is therefore recommended that potential FUE patients evaluate which FUE clinic to chose based on either its previous Strip results and/or its current FUE results.
FUE, enables the surgical team to offer small Hair Transplant sessions of 500 grafts, especially to patients who are in initial stages of hair loss and might need to cover only their hairline or temporal area. It is also the ideal technique for patients who want to shave their heads since it leaves no visible scarring in the donor area.
Fue result:
The photos below will help you to understand better the FUE technique
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In this photo you can see the sites that have just been created by using a 0.75mm punch. You can also see the sites that have been punched the previous day, 20 hours after surgery. The healing of these sites is amazing. After a few days it will extremely difficult to notice that the patient has undergone hair extraction from this area. |
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In this photo you can see the harvested follicular units with 0.75 mm punch. Notice the follicular units are intact with a very low transection rate and with the proper amount of sebaceous material to protect the grafts and generate new arrector pili muscles and oil glands after being moved to the recipient site-area. |
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These follicular units have been harvested with same punch size as above. They are all single Follicular Units and they are to be placed on the hairline where we only use singles. They are intact with all the necessary tissue to give them an excellent growth in a few months. |
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In this photo you can see a cross-section of the scalp after removing a follicular unit via FUE. Notice that the neighbouring follicular units have remained intact. |
When can I go back to work?
Many patients are concerned how they will look immediately after the procedure and a few days later. Their main worry, is after how many days following the procedure they will be able to return to work without any visible signs. The photos below document a patient's progress in the first ten days following hair transplant surgery.
Donor area during the procedure |
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Donor area 10 days after the procedure
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Donor area during the procedure
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Donor area 10 days after the procedure
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The photos above provide evidence that allowing ten days following the procedure for hair growth is sufficient time to allow a return to work without any visible signs, provided that post operative instructions are correctly followed.
The main advantages in brief of the FUE Technique are:
· Expansion of Donor area
· Ideal for moustache or eyebrow replacement
· Ideal for small sessions and for patients in initial stages
· Ideal for patients who wish to shave their heads
· Less invasive - with no visible scarring in the donor area
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