Follicular hair extraction which is known as FUE is hair extraction technique used in hair transplant. On contrary to common belief, FUE is not the entire hair transplant process. It is the first step of the operation.
After extracting hairs with this technique, a suitable implant technique should be selected. Slit and Sapphire are two hair implant techniques. In both of these implanting methods, channels are opened to the recipient area. While surgeon’s blade is used in Slit, diamond-tipped blades are used in Sapphire.
How Is Follicular Hair Extraction Applied?
If you have decided to have a hair transplant, you might be wondering how follicular hair extraction is applied. Before this operation, local anesthesia is applied to your scalp. If the patient is extremely sensitive to pain, general anesthesia might be applied. But this is an extremely rare practice.
After local anesthesia, doctors use special handheld devices called FUE punch to extract the hair. This punch has a super sharp tip to extract the hair grafts without damaging the hair roots. For this reason, this punch is made from titanium. This tool enables precise control for the doctor. This way, hair roots are collected and prepared for the implanting process.
Difference Between FUE and FUT
FUT – follicular unit transplant – was among the first hair transplant methods. When hair transplant first emerged, this method was popular. However, it is almost impossible to see this practice. Compared to follicular hair extraction, FUT leaves scar tissue at the back of the head.
In the FUT technique, hair is collected as a strip from the donor area. Later, the donor area is stitched. This stitching leaves a mark on your scalp. For this reason and due to longer recovery times, FUT is not preferred by doctors. On the other hand, FUE decreases recovery time and increases the success rate of the operations.