FUT Hair Transplants

FUT Hair Transplants

FUT Hair Transplants, FUSS and FUG Hair Transplants are all terms describing the same hair transplant technique known as Follicular Unit Transfer Hair Transplantation. It involves sourcing genetically resistant hair (to DHT) and transplanting it from the sides and back to the front or top area of the head that is bald/balding. The FUT Hair Transplant method is best for hair transplant procedures needing a high number of grafts.

FUT Hair Transplants Frequently Asked Questions

Is a Hair Transplant Permanent?

Yes! Where the hair transplanted is 100% genetically resistant hair, and the hair is transplanted into a region impacted by Male Pattern Baldness or Female Pattern Hair Loss, the hair from the sides and back are considered to be permanent. This is due to the fact the side/back hairs are genetically resistant to the hormone responsible for your hair loss, therefore when surgically removed from the sides and back along with its follicle, the hair will take with it, its genetic pre-disposition.

Any other cause of hair loss, or any other form of alopecia will mean that this hair will not be permanent. A good way to determine if your hair loss is andro genetic alopecia, also known as male pattern hair loss, is to confirm that your hair loss is contained to the frontal, midscalp or crown? If so, then your hair loss is likely to be andro genetic alopecia. If you are unsure, request a consult and let us help you determine it.

Strip Hair Transplant Technique – Sounds Scary!

Strip Hair Transplants also known as FUT, FUSS or FUG is a technique that commonly causes some concern for patients considering hair transplantation. Namely due to the scar resulting from this procedure. The advantages and disadvantages of this hair transplant technique are listed below.

Advantages

• Hair Transplant Success Rate – The FUG, FUT, FUSS hair transplant technique proves to offer a higher yield rate than FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction). Commonly yields and success rates have sustained above the 95% growth rate.
• High Number of Sourced Grafts- The Follicular Unit Graft Hair Transplant technique in one day, can yield far more grafts (follicles) than the FUE method (Follicular Unit Extraction). On average 2500-6500 grafts can be sourced using the FUG method, vs 700-1200 grafts with (manual) FUE. 1 Graft = 1 Follicle and a follicle can grow anywhere from 1 to 4 hairs in it. On average assume 2 hairs per follicle. 2500-6000 grafts = 5000-12000 hairs
• No ongoing maintenance – To maintain the transplanted grafts 2-3 weeks after the hair transplant, you can simply wash it, comb it, style it and cut it. No on-going maintenance or medication is required for the transplanted hairs. However, to improve the recovery and growth rate of the transplanted hairs, platelet rich plasma (PRP) has show unbelievably impressive results post hair transplant in accelerating the recovery of the hair transplant.

Disadvantages

• Scar – Depending on the skill of the surgeon and the genetic predisposition of the patient, some people have a very high degree of elasticity in their skin. This means, irrespective of the technique of the surgeon the patient is likely to naturally have a more prominent scar than others. However, a large contributing factor is the angle or axis taken by the surgeon. If the hair transplant surgeon takes a curved or rounded strip axis, then to create that “join” or scar a large amount of folding of the skin is required. Whereas if the axis is more gradual and somewhat straighter, then to create the join there is not as much folding of the skin required. View our scar before and after gallery to understand further.

To fully understand if Follicular Unit Grafting Hair Transplantation is for you, please request an online consultation.

Can I get a full head of hair?

NO! Hair transplantation is NOT ever going to give you a full head of hair like you had when you were 16 years old. It involves MOVING or TRANSPLANTING hair from the sides and the back of the head, to the top where you are no longer growing it. Hair Transplantation is the only method available to grow more hair where you are no longer growing it, however it is important to consider and understand that to achieve maximum density the transplanted hair needs to add and combine in with the non-transplanted hair, therefore combining to achieve a fuller long term result. An effective hair loss treatment available to help save and aid attempts to regrow thinning hair thicker is Platelet Rich Plasma and for making your hair look fuller you might want to consider a micro scalp pigmentation.

FUT Hair Transplant Recovery Time

Follicular Unit Grafting Hair Transplants follow a recovery time line that has been summarised below:

Hair Transplant Recovery Time.

Day 1 – Have the hair transplant
Day 2 – Return for a hair wash, or this can be done yourself if need be with the help of a partner/wife/friend.
Day 3-6 Some facial swelling may occur for hair transplants involving the frontal hair line.
Day 5-10 The grafts blood scabs will start to break away. If incorporating PRP with your hair transplant you should notice a 30-50% faster recovery of the skin/scabs

We suggest to people to allow 1.5 to 2.5 weeks to recover from the hair transplant.

50% of the time = Medically to allow the body to rest and heal – PRP will significantly accelerate this.

Next 50% of the time = Cosmetically – the best way to accelerate this is PRP, pre, during and post hair transplant to maximise the speed of recovery

FUT Hair Transplant Prices

The cost of FUT hair transplants can differ immensely depending on where you are located.

Generally speaking it can cost you between $2000 and $20,000 depending on location (USA / Canada / Australia is way more expensive than Turkey for example) and the number of grafts you are going to need.

PRP Therapy and FUT Hair Transplantation

This medical treatment is a popular option for clients seeking to prevent further hair loss and to regrow their thinning hair thicker. It is a relatively natural treatment that is explained thoroughly in the links below. Basically, PRP maximises the growth factors found naturally in your blood, and injecting them back into your body, the results are similar to the results you can expect when you fertilise a deteriorating a plant. Think of PRP as being a “Fertiliser for your Hair Follicles”.

PRP stands for Platelet Rich Plasma, this hair loss treatment utilises the 100x Growth Factors found naturally within our blood, PRP harnesses and condenses these growth factors and assists in:

• Preventing Further Hair Loss
• Rejuvenation of thinning hair so that the follicle is stimulated to Regrow thinning hair thicker,
• Promote the health of the hair from the root (aka hair follicle)
• Prepare the skin and hair for an upcoming FUT hair transplant, PRP has long been known for its benefit in preparing the region for a FUT hair transplant procedure
• Recover quick & return to work sooner by combining PRP with a FUT hair transplant procedure. Patients in 2013 who combined PRP with a FUT Hair Transplant experienced less temporary shock loss & their skin recovered quicker as well.

To review more on PRP Platelet Rich Plasma & FUT Hair Transplants – Click Here

To request a personalised assessment – Click Here

Who is a good candidate for FUT Hair Transplants?

Any male or female with the below points can be considered a good candidate for an FUT Hair Transplant;

• A Male with Male Pattern Hair Loss (aka androgenetic alopecia) or any Female with Female Pattern Hair Loss (aka androgenetic alopecia)
• The person is in good health
• Has not lost all of the hair in the male or female pattern balding region. Ideally more than 25-35% of a person’s hair needs to still remain in the balding region, any less than this may make hair transplantation no longer a viable treatment. (refer to the next question to understand why the volume of hair loss may result in a person becoming a less than ideal FUT Hair Transplant patient).
• Has a healthy donor supply in quantity and quality
• Good scalp elasticity.
• The patient does not have Keliod Scarring. Click here for a definition of keloid scarring.
• The quality of a patients hair in the donor & recipient region is good-to-high.
• The patient is undergoing a form of preventative treatment, such as PRP for Hair Loss, to help prevent further hair loss & thinning. This will result in the non-transplanted hair combining with the transplanted hair to give a thicker and fuller result for longer.
• The patient has reasonable expectations, Eg. They are not expecting a “full head of hair” again, this is not possible and explained further in the next question.

When a male or female undergoes a hair assessment with us, we review the above for every patient when reviewing a patients candidacy for a FUT Hair Transplant. To see if an FUT Hair Transplant is a viable treatment option for you hair loss contact us for free advice.

Can I have a full head of hair with a FUT Hair Transplant?

Hair Restoration via a FUT Hair Transplant, requires adequate supply (donor hair) to meet demand (area that is to be covered).

•  When you were 15yrs of age, a person commonly has approx. 100,000 hairs on their entire head, this would be called a full head of hair.
• ~70,000 hairs sit on top and prone to hair loss when the person has inherited the balding gene (more about hair loss here)
• ~30,000 hairs sit on the sides and back – these hairs are genetically resistant to male & female pattern hair loss.

Using FUT Hair Transplantation, one can transplant approx. 10-12,000 hairs from the sides and back and MOVE them, meaning transplanted hair will no longer grow on the sides or back as these hairs have been moved. If a patient has lost more than ~75% of their hair on top (80% of 70,000 = leaving only ~20,000 left) doctors will be trying to put 10-12,000 hairs to cover a region that used to have 70,000 the result will not be ideal. Therefore when a patient has lost a vast amount of hair (more than 50%), great care and attention needs to be given to ensure a FUT Hair Transplant helps that patient, rather than further damages their confidence.

FUT Hair Transplants and infact FUE Hair Transplants are not able to give a full head of hair to a person with genetic hair loss, because a transplant is moving hair, not cloning hair. As it stands in 2019, scientists are making process to successfully clone hair for hair transplantation but for now FUT hair transplants represent the best and bigger chances of providing the most coverage for a patient.

Why would I pick a FUT Hair Transplant over FUE?

If more hair and better growth of transplanted hair is a desired outcome and if the patient requires the maximum number of hairs transplanted for the minimum cost then a patient would be recommended the FUT Hair Transplant method, because with the FUT Hair Transplant technique:

• A patient can yield from 1000-7000+ Grafts in one procedure (2,000-14,000 hairs – the average would be 3000-4000 grafts for most men & 1800-2500 grafts for most women)
• Depending on the skill of the people involved in the transplant, yields of 95-99% of the hair that is transplanted being successful is common.

FUE Hair Transplantation is ideal for patients who:

• require less grafts (200-1000 grafts)
• if the patient has elasticity concerns with the skin
• would like to wear their hair under a #3 clipper on the sides and the back

More on FUE Hair Transplants – Click Here

Who are not ideal FUT Hair Transplant patients?

Generally patients who are not of good health, have a blood disorder, high blood pressure, on blood thinning agents, Parkinsonism, Keloid Scarring and Patients with Hyperelastic Skin are not recommended for FUT Hair Transplantation.

When can I fly after a FUT hair transplant?

You can board a plane back home the day immediately following the transplant without any harm coming to the hair transplant. And you can wear a cap, meaning it is not visible and easily disguisable.

Can my wife/partner be in surgery with me all the time?

They are welcome to wait in the reception area, and they are welcome to join you for lunch, however they are not able to be in the surgery at all.

What medication is used, what if I get a reaction?

Occasionally people are allergic to the anaesthetic used but if you have had local anaesthetic at the dentist without having issues then you are not allergic. Others have an allergy to antibiotics and if this is so the clinics substitute another antibiotic. This is discussed further with the patient and the consultant to identify any known concerns, and reinforced with the surgeon prior to the procedure.