FUT Hair Transplant: How Is It Different From FUE?

There is no denying the fact that everyone, irrespective of their age and gender, is self-conscious about losing their hairline. However, almost two-thirds of people globally experience hair loss or hair thinning by the age of 30 years. There are many options available to people who hesitate to go the shaved head route and one of the best options is a Hair transplant.

Table of Contents

Feel free to skip ahead if one topic catches your eye:

1. What is a FUT transplant?

2. Who can consider a FUT hair transplant?

3. How does it work?

4. What does the recovery look like after a FUT hair transplant?

5. Does FUT possess any scarring?

6. FUT vs FUE: Major differences

7. Cost of FUT hair transplant in Delhi NCR

8. Possible side effects of FUT hair transplant

Takeaway

1. What is a FUT transplant?

What is a FUT hair transplant? Follicular unit transplantation (FUT) can be defined as a minimally invasive and outpatient procedure in which small hairs or follicular unit clusters are removed from the donor area (the fringe of hair around the head) in a strip and thereafter implanted into the recipient area (the bald area of the head). These follicular hair units can easily replicate natural growth in the scalp’s recipient area if transplanted well.

Is FUT hair transplant safe? How successful is a FUT hair transplant? What are the advantages of FUT hair transplant? Let us now find out answers to these common FUT hair restoration procedure questions to gain a clear and complete understanding.

Advantages of FUT

• FUT hair transplant is an old established technique
• You can easily cover the linear scar by keeping your hair long
• FUT hair transplant is less time-consuming

Disadvantages Of FUT

• Big bald areas can’t be covered by FUT
• Body Hair Transplant can’t be done by FUT
• FUT is more technician-dependent work, doctor’s involvement is less in comparison to the FUE technique
• Only small bald areas can be done by FUT
• DHI method is not possible by FUT
• Longer graft storage time in comparison to FUE
• It results in stretching of the scalp.
• Involves the risk of scarring
• Involves a longer recovery period.
• Treatment is invasive.
• Scars may become localized and large-sized making them slightly more visible.

We need to have a clear and complete understanding of follicular units before we read more about Follicular unit transplantation.

Our hair grows in small groups, usually between 1-4 hairs in a single group. These groups include the hair itself and the follicle, which is a sac-like structure beneath our scalp that is responsible for producing and nourishing the growth of new hair. An individual with thicker hair may have follicular units with 3-4 hairs.

FUT procedure involves the effective placement of follicular units in the following manner:

• Single hair units are placed at the front of the hairline
• Two hair units are placed behind the hairline
• Three and four hair units are placed behind the two hair units

This arrangement is instrumental in producing a natural-looking appearance. It also ensures that the scalp is enriched with the right amount of hair density.

Before the surgery, the surgeon will have a word with the patient to discuss all aspects of the Follicular unit transplantation procedure. Thereafter, a set of pre-operative instructions will be provided to the patient that includes stopping any medications like aspirin, regularly massaging the scalp, and quitting smoking.

In the recent past, people looking for hair restoration also opted for Follicular unit extraction (FUE) transplantation. During this procedure, individual follicular unit grafts are removed using tiny punches under local anesthetics. These grafts are then replanted in the donor area through a fine needle. It is a better option compared to FUT as it does not lead to a prominent scar-like FUT.

Advantages Of FUE

• The doctor’s involvement is more in FUE surgery.
• DHI method is possible
• Big Bald Areas can be covered
• Shorter graft storage time in comparison to FUT
• Scars are invisible.
• It is minimally invasive.
• Great precision in the count of units to extract and graft.
• Multiple donor areas like a beard and chest are possible.
• Simple post-treatment care.
• Natural results.

2. Who can consider a FUT hair transplant?

People who have long hair and those who have lost a small number of hair, require a small number of grafts. Men with male pattern baldness are the ideal candidates for FUT hair transplant procedures.

• Age: FUT hair transplant procedures are generally performed on people above the age of 25 years. This is primarily because the patterns of hair loss are less predictable in younger people.
• Diagnosis: Men with the Norwood and Hamilton hair loss patterns grade 3 to 4 are more likely to respond better to FUT hair transplant procedures.
• Area of balding: FUT hair transplant is an excellent choice to treat the loss of hair at the front of the head.
• Hair thickness: FUT hair transplant is a good option for people who have a high hair follicle density.
• Hair color: People with hair color that is quite similar to the color of their scalp usually make ideal candidates as they have less color contrast.

3. How does it work?

A strip of skin, generally from the back of the head, is cut by the surgeon from the scalp. The exact size of the skin strip is dependent on the count of follicles required for covering the bald spots (areas to be treated). Generally, the strip does not exceed 0.4 to 0.6 inches wide. The individual follicles are re-inserted into the patient’s scalp once the follicles are removed by the surgeon from the strip.

Before FUT, local anesthesia is provided to the patient in a surgery that lasts between 4-8 hours. The surgeon will start by redrawing the hairline and will mark the exact area of hair extraction. Thereafter, the surgeon will take some photographs for medical records. 

Once this has been done, the hair at the donor site will be trimmed by the surgeon or the support team to about 2 millimeters. Then, the surgeon will cut the skin strip with the individual hair follicles to be used as grafts. Individual hair follicles then are removed by the technician from the skin strip. It will then be prepared for transplantation. The surgeon will now proceed with the closure of the scalp with sutures.

Now, the hair follicles will be inserted into the scalp balding areas in a naturally-looking pattern. Bandages and an antibiotic will then be applied to the scalp.

4. What does the recovery look like after a FUT hair transplant?

You may experience mild irritation or pain immediately after the FUT surgery. In some cases, patients may experience scabbing in the scalp’s recipient site and mild swelling on the forehead. However, antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs can be used to ease them.

2-4 days: Patients may experience some crusting at the recipient and donor areas. It is highly recommended that patients should avoid touching the grafts until day 6.

5-9 days: During this period, patients can generally wash and clean their hair as per the surgeon’s recommendations and can expect to be scab-free by day 10.

10-14 days: Ideally, the scalp should be free of scabs by day 10. The surgeon and the support team will now be removing the stitches from the scalp’s donor area.

14-60 days: New hair grafts are expected to be shed during this period. However, there is absolutely nothing to worry about as the newly grafted hairs are entering the resting phase.

60-120 days: You may look the same as before the FUT surgery during this period. Therefore, patience is required during this resting phase.

120-300 days: New hair will start growing. Initially, the hair may appear very fine but it will start thickening over some time. The best thing is that patients can effortlessly treat their new hair just like the rest of the hair.

300-450 days: The patient’s hair will mature, thicken, and behave more like the original hair. Patients may have had many haircuts by now.

At DermaLife, we provide a complete hair restoration aftercare service, including regular consultations, check-ups, and appointments at every stage of the recovery process. Our teams of experienced and qualified hair restoration specialists are always keen to hear how our esteemed patients are getting on in the months after their hair transplant surgery. 

5. Does FUT possess any scarring?

FUT hair transplant surgery leaves a scar at the hair removal site.

6. FUT vs FUE: Major differences

FUT

• All the hair during the FUT procedure is harvested from the mid-region of the donor area where the hair is mostly permanent. This helps maximize the yield of high-quality grafts.
• The rate of graft damage (follicular transaction) is lower if done by experienced technicians. 
• FUT transplants are easy compared to FUE.

FUE

• The doctor’s involvement is more in FUE
• One of the biggest advantages of FUE over FUT is that it promotes high hair yield in the recipient areas.
• FUE is less invasive in comparison to FUT
• Scarring is minimal in the donor area
• Body Hair Transplant is possible
• Big Bald Areas like Norwood and Hamilton Grade 6 and 7 can be covered by FUE if the donor area has a sufficient number of grafts available.
• Graft storage time out of the body is much less
• DHI method is possible
• During the FUE procedure, the surgeon monitors the follicular units through stereo-microscopes. The units are carefully isolated with a predefined purpose to keep them intact.
• The follicle survival rate in the FUE procedure is enhanced.

If you are looking for a better hair restoration technique than FUT, it is best to opt for Boosted FUE which overcomes the limitations of FUT. This procedure involves less follicular transaction rate when compared to traditional hair transplant procedures like FUT and also body graft time is much less in comparison to FUT. 

The best thing is that the entire process is done under the doctor’s observation. If this is not all, the graft roots are not touched during Boosted FUE which enhances their survival rate and provides a chance at denser growth of hair after the procedure.

7. Cost of FUT hair transplant in Delhi NCR

The approximate cost of a FUT hair transplant in Delhi NCR is INR 45-85 per graft. The FUT hair transplant cost may vary from one clinic to another as it is dependent on a wide range of factors such as the amount of hair being transplanted, and the FUT hair transplant technique. It is also dependent on the overall FUT hair transplant process, FUT hair transplant aftercare, the skills and expertise of the surgeon, the level of baldness, the number of donor grafts, the number of sittings, infrastructure facilities, etc.

8. Possible side effects of FUT hair transplant

In some cases, patients opting for a FUT hair transplant may experience FUT hair transplant side effects such as mild pain, numbness, tingling sensation at the scalp, mild and temporary swelling, and inflammation. 

Takeaway

Hair loss or baldness can be a total nightmare and entirely embarrassing for some of us. However, it surely is not the end of the world. Hair restoration procedures such as Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) have come a long way to make men and women more attractive and look younger so they can easily endow themselves with a more active and vibrant social life.

Contact DermaLife now.