Follicular Transplant Method
The Strip Harvesting technique involves removing the follicular units to be transplanted as one group, from the donor area. By this way the follicular units are kept intact in their genetic form and prevent the individual hair follicles from being damaged. Each follicular unit contains one to four hairs, the average being 2.2 hairs per follicular unit.
These follicular units are then dissected with great care under microscopes equipped with fibre optics so as to avoid the application of heat to the follicles. These follicular units are preserved in a special solution at the right temperature until the doctor prepares the recipient sites on the patient. They are then placed with great care in to the bald or thinning areas of the scalp, called the recipient area.
There are several key elements necessary to achieve a satisfactory result. The most important of these key elements are the following:
- Proper donor extraction and closing
- Proper follicular unit dissection
- Proper graft hydration and storage.
- Recipient site creation using proper angulation, direction and arrangement
- Natural hairline design
- Careful placement of grafts with the proper technique so as to avoid their damage
- Proper post-surgery care
The dissection of the grafts is vital to the final result. The strip is first dissected in slivers, and then the slivers are dissected into follicular units or grafts. This way of dissection under the hands of a well-trained team, ensures no wastage of grafts and makes placing easier without the fear of graft damage. This is one factor that ensures higher percentage growth.
In addition to explaining our techniques we show a different result in every section, because we understand that what counts for the patient at the end of the day, is how he looks after the hair transplant
Follicular Unit Extraction
The most important difference between Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) and the Strip Method is the technique used for extracting the follicular units. With FUE, a specialized punch with less than 1mm diameter is used to extract the hair from the scalp. The main advantage of this technique is that follicular units are extracted directly from the scalp rather than in larger groups, which obviates the utilization of scalpel and stitching.
FUE was seen as a technological breakthrough in surgical technique when it was introduced to the hair surgery market in 2002. Previously potential candidates for hair transplant surgery were concerned that with the strip method a straight scar could be left on the back of their head so they no longer had the option of shaving their head or having a particularly short haircut. The beauty of the FUE technique is in the hands of our expert surgeons there is no visible scarring. We have pioneered the use of Follicular Unit Extraction since 2009 as one of the very first clinics in Hyderabad to offer the procedure.
On the left you can see a simple diagram showing how follicular unit extraction happens. A punch of under 1mnn diameter is placed in the skin to the depth of the hair’s root allowing the Hair Transplant Surgeon to remove the hair from the skin without causing damage.
This new non-invasive technique is offered by very few hair transplantation clinics in Hyderabad. The reason is that very few hair transplantsurgeons are able to master this difficult technique because FUE requires special know-how and correct practice from the medical team in order to complete this procedure in a way to produce results.
It is the ideal technique for patients who want to shave their heads since it leaves no visible scarring in the donor area.
The procedure begins with local anesthesia of the hair transplant donor area. The extracted units are immediately transferred to technical members of the medical team for processing of the grafts. They make microscopic quality checks then separate and sort the follicular units. The final stage of the procedure is opening the recipient areas and placing the grafts.
