FUE generally refers to Follicular Unit Extraction. However, it was recently redefined as Follicular Unit Excision. The goal was to increase the accuracy of the procedure’s description.
Follicular Unit Excision is the surgical technique that refers to circumferential incision of the skin around the follicular unit bundle or group of hair follicles for the purpose of extracting a full-thickness skin graft containing hair follicles, intradermal fat, dermis, and epidermis.
Between FUE and FUT hair transplants, the former is the most widely misunderstood. In fact, FUE needs to be completely redefined. In doing so, we hope that we can spread some light on the procedure. Additionally, we believe educating our patients helps them make the best choices. In the long run, these decisions are best worked out between you and your doctor.
FUE Redefined – Understanding the Facts of FUE
The FUE hair transplant, also known as the Follicular Unit Extraction hair restoration surgery, is by far, the most popular hair transplant surgery available today. This hair transplant surgery is a great option for many hair restoration seekers.
If you’re in search of or interested in hair restoration surgery and you’ve heard about the FUE hair transplant, you’ll be happy to know that Follicular Unit Extraction FUE procedures are one of the most recommended procedures we offer here at Best Hair Transplant in LA.
So What’s the Deal with FUE Hair Tansplant Procedures?
The Follicular Unit Extraction hair transplant method offers the ability to create a natural appearance of hair growth patterns using naturally occurring groups of hair grafts and migrating them from one part of the head to another. No longer do patients have to worry about the “hair plugs” of the past. Now, patients experience natural looking results with minimal discomfort.
However, it’s not for everyone. The Follicular Unit Extraction is a hair restoration method that has its time and place. In fact, for most patients, FUE is a great option, but for others, it may not be the best option. Unfortunately, that may not stop some doctors from suggesting the procedure when the less expensive FUT procedure would be a better fit for the patient.
Honesty is the Best Policy
We are honest with our patients about FUE for many reasons, but our main reason is this: we want your hair transplant to be successful. That is our primary concern, not charging you for a procedure you don’t need. Best Hair Transplant is a Five-Star Rated business on Yelp and Google.
While FUE is preferred in certain situations over FUT it is not always the best option. We discussed this topic in this article on the pros and cons of FUE transplants. There can be many reasons for this. Patient demands are frequently a factor. Other times, it’s a combination of inexperience between doctor and patient. Finally, it may be due to a greedy doctor. In fact, patients are often misled about FUE hair transplants.
Educating Patients About Their Options
Patients often come into our office dead set on getting an FUE procedure due to beliefs that have been instilled in them by other hair transplant providers and information they find online. However, these beliefs are often misguided or completely inaccurate.
FUE clinics that publish or share this information have their own reasons for pushing FUE that are not in the best interest of the patient. Often one of the first steps we take at Best Hair Transplant during our free consultation is correctly informing our patients of many truths about FUE that may make it a procedure that is not the right choice for the patient.
Shock loss, such as from Overharvesting. Source: fue-hairtransplant.blogspot.com
Overharvesting of Hair Follicles
The explosion in popularity of FUE has contributed to an increase in patients affected by what is known as overharvesting. Best Hair Transplant has seen an increase every month in the number of patients who have suffered negative results from overharvesting caused by careless surgeons from other clinics. As a result, they need another procedure done to correct the issue.
Understanding FUE Hair Transplant Surgery
Typically, FUE transplanted hair should be harvested in a way that does not show patches or thinning hair from the donor region. It must be done with skill and with an understanding of the ways in which hair growth occurs in the first place.
Your hair surgeon must exercise caution and be conservative with the amount of grafts they remove during your surgery or surgeries. Otherwise, the most recognized benefits of FUE surgery may be lost to overharvesting from the donor area.
Extracting Follicular Units
Extracting follicular units using a FUE hair transplant depends upon whether there is enough donor hair in the first place. Manual FUE procedures should focus on punching out small holes from the scalp and placing them into the bald area you’re looking to fill in.
But to achieve optimal results, your surgeon needs to balance the removal of hairs from the donor region with the placement of those respective grafts into the bald regions. A poor surgeon or one who tries to push the boundaries of time or hair volume can cause overharvesting issues to occur.
How and Why Does Overharvesting Occur?
Overharvesting occurs when aggressive FUE procedures are performed. either once incorrectly, or multiple times excessively. This can result in visible thin patches of hair in the donor area or worse, such as almost complete donor alopecia. Visible scarring is another potential side effect.
Overharvesting is beneficial only for the doctor performing the surgery and collecting money from the patient. The doctor can sell the patient what appears to be a high-quality hair transplant. However, the reality is the doctor is overharvesting the donor site.
Consequently, this will ultimately result in a negative outcome and appearance for the patient. Even the hairs transplanted from the donor site are often thin because the graft quality is low. This results in both the donor site and the transplant site not having a good appearance for the patient.
Find a Reputable Hair Surgeon
They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Some cases involve overly aggressive FUE transplants that overharvest donor areas. Then, the doctor suggests to their patients that more FUE is the answer when often it is not.
In any case, a reputable surgeon performing the procedure is a much better option. Many hair transplant doctors are only interested in their bottom line. At Best Hair Transplant in Redondo Beach, we offer hair transplants at reasonable prices.
FUE Requires Little Surgical Training
You read that correctly. While you do need to generally understand what you’re doing to perform an FUE procedure, being a surgeon with years of experience is not required. There are many FUE doctors becoming “trained” in FUE through training programs that provide minimal experience. Many have less experience than the techs they work with. Frequently, you’ll see techs doing the majority of the work.
The Dirty Little Secrets of FUE
Many clinics opt to push FUE because they don’t have a professional surgeon on-site with the same level of experience. In fact, this is the case with Bosley; a nationwide transplant chain. They charge considerably higher prices than we do at Best Hair Transplant. And still, they opt to hire from a pool of doctors who are new to the field. Once in a while, you may find an expert at Bosley. However, you shouldn’t count on it.
Additionally, as robot-performed FUE procedures come into vogue for clinics that simply want to push clients in and out the door, the procedure becomes less reliable. In fact, humans need not be present. However, a lot of doctors stopped using the robot midway through. This is due to issues with the technology.
Finally, they do the process by hand while still selling the patient a premium service. After all, doctors sell robots as a “better” procedure. They claim they offer better results. Spoiler alert: they don’t! In reality, hair transplantation is best performed by a skilled hair transplant doctor.
FUE Costs More Than FUT
Finally and most unfortunately, we must remember that FUE surgery costs more than FUT. Now don’t just assume it’s an equal playing field when comparing the two procedures. FUE costs more, but that’s because it takes more time to perform the procedure.
Additionally, it may require subsequent sessions to achieve the natural results and natural look you’re going for. Keep this in mind. If you need multiple sessions or a large number of grafts for proper coverage, you’ll be looking at a hefty cost when everything is said and done.
Can Follicular Unit Transplantation Work for Me?
Not all patients experiencing hair loss are good candidates for FUT, so FUE really may be the best option for you. Therefore, despite the cost savings, it’s not worth trying to pinch pennies when we’re talking about whether a particular surgery will work properly for you or not.
If you want the expected results, you need to listen to your surgeon’s advice. And any reputable hair restoration clinic will refuse to perform any surgery deemed to be improper for their patient.
Is Strip Harvesting the Way to go?
A traditional FUT strip harvest method of hair transplant treatment may not be right for many patients. Other patients may simply want to avoid the fine linear scar that comes with strip harvesting of scalp tissue. They may prefer wearing shorter hairstyles.
Those who wear their hair short may want to avoid linear scar visibility in the donor area. Patients may also prefer to opt out of strip excision methods due to sensitivity to pain, intolerance for local anesthesia, or an increase in the healing process timeframe.
Other prospective hair transplant recipients may not qualify for the strip method if their scalp is too tight to properly remove the tissue and suture it back together. Consequently, FUE hair transplantation may be the only surgical option on the table.
The Bottom Line About FUE Transplants
Clinics make more money when they push FUE procedures. However, it’s not always the best choice for the patient. They want the big bucks! And because an FUE procedure is more expensive, hair transplant doctors want to capitalize on it.
Frequently, they sell it to their patients as a “higher quality” hair transplant. This is simply not true. It’s a lie, or at best, a simple mistake on their part. Either way, they’re wrong. Above all, it’s unfair to you and costs you money that you may not need to spend.
Now, that’s not to say that FUE hair transplantation is a bad surgery option. Far from it. In fact, the FUE hair transplant is a fantastic option for many patients. The real key to success is to find a trustworthy hair clinic with many positive reviews that you can count on to give you the best information possible.
Choose Best Hair Transplant
At Best Hair Transplant, we call ourselves the best because of our affordable prices. Moreover, we say this because of the quality of the work we perform. We won’t just save you money on an equitable FUT or FUE procedure. We save you money by recommending the procedure that works best for you.
Oftentimes, our patients save two-fold at Best Hair Transplant. They receive the same procedure for less than other LA hair transplant doctors would charge. Additionally, you’ll get the right procedure done for your specific hair loss situation. Frequently, this may be a FUT transplant instead of its more expensive alternative.
The Best Hair Transplant Clinic in Los Angeles
At Best Hair Transplant we choose the right procedure for our patients. In rare cases, that may even mean recommending no procedure or recommending an alternative such as laser hair therapy. Our goal is to make our patients have a successful transplant and for them to be happy with their procedure.
For a free consultation regarding FUT or FUE hair transplants and other treatment options, contact us today at 213-403-0455.
