In a follicular unit hair transplant procedure, Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) is a method of extracting, or “harvesting,” donor hair. FUE involves making a small, circular incision in the skin around a follicular unit to separate it from the surrounding tissue with an instrument. After that, the unit is extracted (pulled) from the scalp, leaving a small open hole.
This procedure is repeated until the hair transplant surgeon has obtained enough follicular units to complete the hair restoration procedure. This process can take one or more hours, and in large sessions, it may take two days to complete.
The donor wounds, which are about a millimeter in diameter, heal completely in seven to ten days, leaving tiny white scars buried in the hair on the back and sides of the scalp.
Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) is a minimally invasive hair transplant technique in which follicular units are extracted from the donor area of the patient and transplanted to the recipient (thinning) area individually. An automated extraction tool is used to remove the grafts, which are then placed in the recipient area.
Before the grafts are harvested, a fine needle-point instrument is used to create tiny “recipient sites” in the balding area of the scalp. After that, the follicular units are implanted into the recipient sites, where they will mature into healthy hair-producing follicles. In both FUE and FUT procedures, the creation of recipient sites and the placement of follicular unit grafts are essentially the same. The difference between the two techniques is in the appearance of the donor area as well as the quality and quantity of grafts obtained.
