FUT vs FUE
When it comes to hair transplant surgery, there are two techniques that are most spoken about: FUT (Follicular Unit Transplant) and FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction). We only offer our patients the FUE hair transplant procedure at our Glasgow clinic.
The reason behind this lies in the difference between the two hair transplant procedures.
Find out what the key differences between FUT and FUE hair transplants are below and what techniques we use at our clinic in Glasgow.
FUT Hair Transplant Surgery
The Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) technique is the traditional way of carrying out hair restoration or hair transplant surgery.
This procedure involves making a cut along the back of the head (ear to ear) and removing a strip of hair bearing scalp. The wound is then closed, leaving a straight line scar at the back of the head. The strip is dissected under a microscope into individual hair follicles, which are then implanted one by one at the top of the head or hairline.
This was initially considered the gold standard method of hair restoration, but the biggest drawback of this technique is that it leaves a straight line scar at the back of the head. Although it is covered by hair, this can still be quite off-putting for many patients looking at hair loss treatments.
This paved the way for new and improved FUE treatments.
FUE Hair Transplant Procedure
The Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) technique is a newer method of performing hair transplants, with less visible scarring.
This specialised hair transplant procedure uses minimally-invasive techniques for an outcome that resembles a full head of hair. The minimally invasive FUE hair transplant surgery involves removing each follicular unit individually, using small punches at the back of the head.
Whilst this technique avoids the straight line scar, it is not entirely scarless. Each punch heals leaving a small white dot of scar tissue. Although, generally speaking, thousands of small white dots tend to be less conspicuous than a straight line scar, so men can wear their hair shorter at the back and sides without having to worry about the scar being visible.
The Evolution of Follicular Unit Extraction
When the FUE technique was first pioneered to treat hair loss, it was limited by a number of problems. The first was that it was very slow, which meant it was only possible for the hair transplant surgeon to transfer a small number of individual follicles for grafts in a day. This made it unsuitable for more severe cases of hair loss.
The trauma of extracting the follicles individually was also bad for the grafts, meaning that the survival rate of the grafts was less than with the traditional strip technique.
Thankfully, however, as time has gone on, the industry’s experience with the technique has improved and refinements in instrumentation mean that we can now safely transfer much higher numbers of grafts with graft survival rates almost as high as the strip technique whilst avoiding the straight line scar. For this reason, FUE is now the preferred method for treating hair loss at our Glasgow clinic.
If you would prefer the FUT technique, we can refer you to a reputable hair transplant clinic that offers the FUT hair transplant in Glasgow.
Book a private online consultation to find out if a FUE treatment is right for you
