Hair Transplantation: Strip Harvesting and Follicular Unit Extraction

admin    Hair Loss Treatments, Hair Transplants    

The surgical technique of hair transplantation involves moving hair (transplantation) from one location (the donor site) to another area (the recipient site).  Most commonly the recipient site is on the top or crown of the head where as the donor site generally is found on the sides or back of the head where hair is not thinning.  Hair transplantation can also be performed to restore eyebrows, eyelashes and the beard.  While hair transplantation is most often related to Male Pattern Baldness, there are times when transplantation is performed to cosmetically correct scars and other forms of alopecia.

Hair Transplantation through Strip Harvesting

Hair transplantation through Strip Harvesting involves removing a strip of the scalp and transplanting that strip to another area that has suffered hair loss.  This is done under local anesthesia and most often the surgery is performed from the surgeon’s office.  It is rarely performed in a hospital setting.  The wound is sutured so that it is minimally noticed and the strip is cut into smaller sections to be transplanted to thinning or bald areas of the patient’s head.  The donor site will result in a linear scar and will have stitches that will need to be removed at some point within a couple of weeks.

Hair Transplantation through Follicular Unit Extraction

Follicular Unit Extraction is often referred to as the abbreviated FUE and is a much more efficient and natural looking hair transplantation procedure.  In order to understand the difference between Strip Harvesting and FUE it is important to look at a hair follicle.  Each follicle produces groupings of hair that range from 1 to 4 individual hairs.  Unlike Strip Harvesting that would surgically transplant an entire strip of the scalp, the FUE procedure is to transplant individual follicles from the donor site to the recipient area.  The surgery is much more time consuming, labor intensive and takes highly specialized (and costly) surgical equipment.  There are no stitches to remove and usually no post-operative pain.  The recovery time is quite short, usually within approximately 7 days.

In years gone by Strip Harvesting was the usual method of hair transplantation but through technological advancements it has almost become a thing of the past.  The most usual form of hair transplantation is currently Follicular Unit Extraction because the effect is much more realistic without the visible scarring.  Both can be done within the doctor’s office so there is no need for general anesthesia.  Besides the obvious cosmetic advantage of FUE over Strip Harvesting, the recovery time is much quicker and there is no need to have sutures removed.  While the surgery itself may be more time consuming, the after care is less intensive.  Both options are still currently available and the primary reason Strip Harvesting would be chosen over FUE would most likely be a reflection of the cost involved.

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