Is Anagen Selective Harvesting Important to the Success of Body Hair Transplant Surgery (BHT)?

This below question was asked by a member of our Hair Loss Social Community and Discussion Forums and answered by recommended hair restoration surgeon Dr. Tejinder Bhatti.

Is it true that the body hair transplant (BHT) donor site should be shaved 4 to 5 days prior to surgery in order to avoid harvesting delicate telogen hairs that are likely to be damaged?

It is always a good idea to undertake an anagen selective follicular unit extraction (FUE) hair transplant. Anagen phase hair are robust hair and grow better and faster and give an early result. Anagen hair can be selected either visually or mechanically (visual selection or mechanical selection).

Those who harvest using 4.5 – 6 x magnification can very well distinguish an anagen hair from a telogen hair and target it (cherry picking). However, most hair transplant surgeons use 2x magnification which makes finer details impossible. In such cases, shaving the chest 3 days before the procedure will ensure that only anagen hair are harvested. This is what is called mechanical selection. The latter case should also apply to scalp hair and not body hair alone.

Use of proper magnification is rarely talked of but is an important component of a successful hair restoration procedure.

Dr. Tejinder Bhatti

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David
Editorial Assistant and Forum Co-Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q & A Blog.

To share ideas with other hair loss sufferers visit the hair loss forum and social community.

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