The Benefits of Anagen Selective Harvesting in Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) Hair Transplant Surgery

The following article, posted on our Hair Loss Social Community and Discussion Forums was written by recommended hair restoration surgeon Dr. Tejinder Bhatti:

I first described my “Golden Harvest” technique on the Hair Restoration Forum and Social Network in 2010 and have been following cherry picking principles ever since to get a better harvest of quality anagen only grafts.

“Cherry picking” is another agricultural term so typical of hair transplant surgery like “harvesting”, “plantation”, “corn row”, etc. Cherry picking (Golden Harvest) denotes harvesting of “golden follicles” (anagen follicles in full bloom and at their hardy best). The advantage of harvesting golden follicles is specific to the follicular unit extraction  (FUE) technique and leads to-

1. Early results
2. Better hair growth
3. Better appreciable density

The patient pays only for the grafts that grow best!

How do we detect golden follicles?

1. MECHANICAL SELECTION: 3-5 days before the procedure, the patient is advised to wet shave the donor area. The hairs that grow out rapidly on the day of the procedure are seldom telogen hairs. The anagen hairs are targeted effectively through this technique and we reap a golden harvest. What is apparent as 3 hairs always leads to a 3-hair graft, unless of course there is a partial transection.
2. VISUAL SELECTION UNDER HIGH MAGNIFICATION: Using 6x magnification, clearly reveals the robust nature of a cluster of follicles. Only robust hair shafts in full bloom will give an anagen follicle.

Cherry picking is an effective way to move the best quality hair with fuller body and with better potential for growth: a significant leap for the surgical hair restoration industry.

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.

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