FUE Over FUT For Hair Transplant - Know Why!

In the past few years, the number of people who are looking to undergo hair transplants has increased significantly. This rise has been attributed to a rise in hair loss across age groups. In fact, hair loss was earlier thought to start only from one’s middle age, but now over 40% men and 50% women below the age of 35 are victims of hair loss. Not just that, this number increases to 65% for men above 65 years of age.

This is one of the factors why people are looking for solutions like hair transplants. Hair transplant is of two types – 

• Follicular Unit Excision (FUE)

• Follicular Unit Transplant (FUT)

Let us look at both these methods –

1. FUE -

This method involves extracting hair follicles from areas of the scalp that has a higher density of hair. Once the follicles are extracted, they are then inserted into the areas where hair density is low. This is a new procedure relatively and has seen a rise in popularity in the recent past.

2. FUT -

This is a more traditional method. It involves removing strips of hair from the back of the scalp and then placing them in circular incisions in areas of the scalp affected by hair loss.

Which one is better?

Because hair transplant is cosmetic surgery, there will be some amount of scarring involved. In this regard, FUE has better because there is little tissue scarring. In FUT however, because linear strips of hair are removed and placed in the front of the scalp, there will be big scars. Now if you cut your hair short, these scars will be visible.

FUT is more painful, and requires the restriction of the neck for some days, whereas in FUE nothing such happens so it is considered to be the painless and better method.

The next point is the recovery time. Since FUE involves individual follicle extraction, the recovery period is short. In FUT, patches of the scalp are removed so the scalp tissues experience more trauma. Due to this, the recovery period is FUT is longer.

In FUE, the doctor can also use body hair and transplant it in the scalp. Hair from the beard or the chest area can be used for this purpose. This is not possible in the FUT procedure.

Overall, the FUE procedure has more benefits compared to the FUT procedure. But you should consult a doctor to determine which is suitable for you.

Please note FUE should be done by a plastic surgeon to achieve good results and not by technicians.