Millions of people suffer from hair loss. According to a study, about 40% of women and 85% of males are affected by hair loss at some point in their life. There can be multiple causes associated with hair loss, such as alopecia or ageing. But unfortunately, hair loss hasn’t remained restricted to just age and genetics; young men and women are getting affected by this concern too. Medications and minimal treatments can treat the early stages of hair loss as outlined in the Hamilton-Norwood scale, stages 1 – 4. But treating significant hair loss is not easy. In such cases, one has to opt for surgical methods.
Two infamous methods are FUE (Follicular Unit Excision) and FUT (Follicular Unit Transplantation). To understand which of these methods is the best, you will need to know what these methods are, and how different they are from each other.
What is FUE Hair Transplant?
Using minute circular incisions, the surgeon transplants follicular units from the donor area (usually the back of the head) to the area under treatment. It is minimally invasive, and the treated area gets healed by the growth of new hairs.
This method needs precision and hard work since each hair follicle has to be grafted to the bald area.
Benefits of FUE hair transplant?
FUE transplant provides an unparalleled quality of yield. Modern advances mean that the FUE process can be carried out both by surgeons and artificial intelligence. Both of them provide a high level of accuracy and quality. There is minimal scarring in FUE transplants. If you seek a hair transplant that provides quick recovery with minimal scarring, then FUE may be the best option for you.
What is the FUT hair transplant?
During this technique a linear strip of hair is taken from the donor area and is then grafted into 2,000 – 4,000 follicular units. These are then transferred into incisions and then transplanted on the desired portion of the head.
This method requires accuracy too but is less stressful for surgeons than FUE since individual harvesting is not needed.
Benefits of FUT transplant?
There is no need to shave the donor area thoroughly, and just like FUE, FUT transplant also ensures minimal scarring.
The density of transplanted hair can be higher in FUT than in any other hair transplant method. As it is a strip method, the overall density of the donor is not hugely affected which means that the procedure can be repeated in future, if necessary.
Which is better – FUE or FUT?
Now we know the specifications of both the FUE and FUT hair transplant, it is time to analyse which method of surgical hair transplant is the best. The results are outlined below:
- Precision – If you seek precision and accuracy, then FUE can be a better option.
- Scarring and Grafting – If you are worried about scarring, then one of the biggest drawbacks of FUT is that it leaves a long linear scar on the back of the head. With the current advances in medical and surgical science, the new method of Trichophytic closure leaves a really thin linear scar which can be hard to detect. Whereas with FUE, you don’t need to worry about large scarring. Micro-grafting in FUE treatment leaves small round scars.
- Pricing – FUE or FUT may require some investment, but in many cases is money well spent. When you attend a consultation at AHI we will discuss the cost of your recommended procedure.