Hair grafting: FUE technique
20 minutes
Not required
Not required
Instant
What is the FUE technique?
The FUE method, also known as Follicular Unit Extraction Method, is the most advanced follicular microtransplant technique available to treat alopecia. It consists of the extraction, one by one, of the follicular units, or hair roots, from the patient’s donor area, to later transplant it in the desired area. The grafts are obtained from the posterior or lateral area of the scalp and are prepared under the microscope so that, when grafted in the recipient area, they are in optimal circumstances to ensure their growth.
Hair grafts, in addition to helping you end your lack of self-esteem, rejuvenate your face by giving you back the thick, voluminous hair you once enjoyed.
This technique extracts follicles from the donor area without stitches or visible scars. Follicular units can be single, double, triple and quadruple, and are always extracted together with their periofollicular structures, i.e. capillary vessels, sebaceous glands, the pili erector pili muscle, etc. In this way, we ensure that the grafts will last for life.
What does the FUE technique consist of?
The operation begins by cutting the patient’s hair to about 3 mm in length and then anesthetizing the donor area. This ensures that the patient does not feel any discomfort during the procedure. Once the area is insensitized, harvesting of the grafts begins with a device called a punch.
This technique is divided into two phases:
1. Extraction phase: requires a professional with long experience and high precision to perform it correctly, painlessly and thoroughly. To do this, the surgeon uses a micro-scalpel, or punch, between 0.8 and 0.9 millimeters in diameter. During the extraction of the follicles, those already extracted are preserved in a special solution that keeps them alive until the implantation phase begins.
Preparation and implantation phase: the surgeon will prepare the grafts under the microscope and then implant them in the desired area. These are implanted one by one in the area to be repopulated thanks to a device called implanter, a micro-needle that performs a micro-incision to lodge the follicular unit inside the scalp. It is a laborious task that must be carried out by a professional with a long experience in order to obtain the most natural result possible.
During each session, only one area can be treated in which around 4,000 follicular units with a thickness of less than one millimeter will be grafted.
The risks of complications during and after surgery are minimal and recovery is quick and painless. In addition, the patient can resume his or her normal routine immediately.
Is the treatment definitive?
The grafted hair follicles come from the patient’s own head. As they are healthy follicles extracted from the posterior and lateral areas of the head where alopecia does not usually affect, the hair will grow naturally and without falling out, so the grafts will be implanted only once in each area to be treated.
Do you have to shave your head completely?
In order to perform the FUE technique, it is necessary to shave the head down to 3 mm in length. However, there are cases that allow partial shaving, known as flaps, for those who do not want or cannot shave their entire head, as is the case of some women.
There are three ways to shave the head:
1. Total shaving: the entire scalp is shaved.
2. Partial shaving: only the donor area is shaved. This allows, after a few days, to even out the cut in all areas of the head. In this way, the change is not as radical as with a total shave.
3. Flaps or curtains: only some areas of the donor area are shaved, so that the hair above falls over the shaved area, concealing it. This form of shaving is designed for women with long hair.
Do you have any doubts?
Leave your data and we will solve them without obligation.
Other hair treatments
At Doctor Life Clinics we have other hair treatments to improve and recover the density of your hair.
