Is Doing 8000 Grafts with Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) Possible and Realistic?
Finally after years, I have decided to do a hair transplant procedure. I have chosen the FUE technique and I think I need minimum 8000 grafts. Does this sound like a good plan?
Most well respected hair restoration physicians would argue that unless you have exceptional donor hair density, you won’t have 8000 follicular unit grafts available via the follicular unit extraction (FUE) method alone.
In my opinion, FUE may be a viable option for some patients including those who want to avoid a linear scar that comes with follicular unit transplantation (FUT) strip surgery and those candidates who require a lower number of grafts to meet their goals.
Those who require a large quantity of follicular units are still usually best exploring and maxing out the FUT strip surgery option first followed by FUE if necessary. Utilizing both FUT strip and FUE can maximize the number of grafts a hair transplant physician can harvest and transplant, thus maximizing both coverage and hair density in the patient.
A patient’s scalp characteristics can also impact whether or not they’re a good candidate for follicular unit extraction. There is an increased difficulty of extracting hair follicles in patients with “mushy” skin. This increased difficulty can increase the risk of transection, lessening the number of viable hairs for transplanting and affecting overall hair growth yield.
Thus, some hair transplant surgeons will recommend doing a small test FUE procedure to determine if the patient is a good candidate.
In my opinion, consult with a qualified physician to evaluate your scalp and go over all the options with you.
Bill – Managing Publisher
