If you have landed on this page, it is likely that you have already done quite a bit of research on hair transplant techniques and their respective history.
Hair transplants are labour intensive procedures which can take up to 6-9 hours long, and to keep it simple and short, here’s a brief summary of the different techniques for hair transplants (FUE vs FUT).
How FUT or “Strip Surgery” Works
The FUT (Follicular Unit Transplant) procedure involves cutting a strip of the patient’s scalp off, before proceeding with slicing to get to the individual hair grafts before a surgical hair transplant. The bare area is usually then sewn up together so that no bald patch can be seen.
- The donor area is identified
- The area meant for harvesting the grafts are marked out on the patient
- Incisions are made following the hair angle to avoid transections of the grafts
- The strip is slivered and sliced to form ‘grafts’ of various configurations – 1, 2, 3 or 4 hairs
- The harvested strip wound is closed with a technique of stitching called “trichophytic suturing”
- The prepared grafts are then manually implanted into the recipient area using either a forceps or an implanter tool
How FUE Hair Transplant (Follicular Unit Extraction/Excision) Works
FUE hair transplant in Singapore is a labor intensive, detailed procedure which involves punching out hair grafts singularly, to minimize scars and to avoid bald patches on the back of the head. This allows quicker healing, is less invasive than the FUT and requires precision and skill to execute.
- The donor area is identified
- The hair is shaved to approximately 1mm length at the donor area
- Individual hair follicular units or “grafts” are extracted using a rotating punch – manual or motorised – at a density that is appropriate for the procedure
- These “grafts” get looked at under the microscope to check for their suitability for implantation. Some will get rejected or trimmed further
- The grafts are then manually implanted in the recipient area using forceps or an implanter tool
How ARTAS Works
The ARTAS® Robotic FUE Hair Transplant mechanically punches out hair grafts and requires a skilled physician to operate in case of machine error. It requires the hair to be shaven down to a super short length, which may not be ideal for certain less intensive cases of hair transplants.
- The donor area is identified
- The hair at the donor area is shaved to 1.1 – 1.4mm for the ARTAS system to better read the hair angle
- The physician will guide the robot to perform FUE punches within a chosen grid -the physician will direct the robot to stay within certain parameters that are pertinent to the particular surgery on that day
- Multiple grids will be done until there is an adequate number of grafts acquired for implantation
- The grafts are checked under microscope for quality, consistency and usability
- These grafts are manually implanted into the recipient area either using forceps or an implanter tool
These are very condensed explanations of the 6 – 9 hour long procedures with technical intricacies that would bore most people. The abstract serves just as a background to compare the pros and cons of the established follicular unit transplantation technique.
** For this article we will not be comparing other forms of hair restoration surgery such as scalp reduction and reconstructive flaps.
Footnotes:
- The ARTAS technique has been left out of this discussion because it is, essentially an extension of the FUE technique with similar pros and cons when compared to FUT.
- There are a multitude of other factors to consider such as patient suitability, operator technique and familiarity with each procedure and the number of hair transplantation technicians working in that centre. These are just a short list of comparable attributes of the two established techniques.There will always be competing schools of thoughts on which technique gives better patient satisfaction and outcome.
- How does longer procedure time affect outcome? Grafts are essentially hair follicles surrounded by connective tissue. They are devoid of blood supply. Having them in a good storage solution such as hypothermosol (which we use at Terra Medical) will prolong their survivability.
