What is the Difference Between Follicular Unit Hair Transplant Surgery (FUT) and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)?

This question was posed by a female hair loss sufferer seeking hair loss help on our hair restoration forum and answered by Dr. Humayun Mohmand of Pakistan who is one of our recommended hair restoration physicians. His professional answer is below.

Can you tell me what the difference between these two hair transplant methods are: Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT – Strip Surgery) and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)

FUE stands for follicular unit extraction. In this hair restoration method, the surgeon extracts one follicular unit at a time with a punch ranging from 0.7mm to 1 mm leaving a small little mark. The advantage of FUE is no linear scar, but scarring in the shape of small round pits. Know that there is always a scar, but the visibility is different. There is also minimal pain during the FUE healing process, though it’s significantly more expensive in some cases.

Follicular unit transplantation (FUT) or the “strip” method is where a hair restoration physician will harvest a strip of tissue creating a liner scar from one ear to other. These days, most surgeons are using the tricophytic closure technique to minimize the visibility of the scar in most cases and if done correctly. Many surgeons do the tricophytic closure, but their method could vary and hence so does their result. It’s a bit more uncomfortable than FUE, but you can get it for a very competitive price. There are either stitches or staples to be removed in 10 days time.

Dr. Humayun Mohmand

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Bill
Associate Publisher

Technorati Tags: hair loss, hair loss help, hair transplant, Follicular Unit Transplantation, FUT, Strip Surgery, Follicular Unit Extraction, FUE, hair restoration, follicular unit, tricophytic closure

Bill

Bill successfully restored his hair with three hair transplantation procedures. He is now the Associate Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network.com and the Hair Loss Learning Center.org

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View Comments

Shahid says:

April 18, 2014 at 1:47 am

dear,
Above info is more then enough thanks.

•FUT will always leave a permanent linear scar in the donor area after hair restoration.

•FUE does leave marks and scar. The multiple pin point scars when combined are less visible to the eye.
Blake aka - FutureHTDoc says:

June 17, 2011 at 5:06 pm

Zikeria,

Although your request is a bit broad, I'll do my best to share some information:

The treatment is simply surgical hair restoration, or hair transplant surgery. During this procedure, permanent hair follicles are grafted from the back of the scalp and implanted into balding regions to create a fuller, denser head of hair.

This is achieved two different ways: 1. by removing a strip of hair from the donor region (back of the scalp), dividing the strip into follicular unit grafts, and implanting the grafts into the balding scalp during a follicular unit transplantation (FUT) procedure; 2. by removing follicular unit grafts individually from the back of the scalp and implanting them directly into the balding areas during a follicular unit extraction (FUE) procedure. For more general information on the procedure, please visit our hair loss learning center: http://www.hairlosslearningcenter.org

The fees will vary depending on the size of your procedure and the policies of the specific clinic. To review hair transplant clinics, please feel free to research our recommended hair restoration physicians: http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/Consult-a-Physician/hair-loss-doctors.asp

Finally, I believe the quality of modern hair transplantation, especially in the hands of a screened, qualified physician, is excellent.

I hope this helps!

Blake (Future_HT_Doc)
Editorial Assistant
zikeria says:

June 7, 2011 at 5:25 am

please give full instruction about treatment and fees and quality