Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) Hair Transplant: Curves Ahead

Abstract

The hair transplant has become widely popular aesthetic procedure. Follicular unit transplantation (FUT) and follicular unit extraction (FUE) are two commonly used and accepted techniques. FUT requires excision of strip of tissue from occipital donor area leading to linear scar. To overcome scarring and other complications of FUT, FUE technique has been attempted which involves harvesting of small individual follicular units. Hair transplantation has been successfully used in correction of alopecia, cleft lip scars, post-burn or surgical scars, vitiligo and as an adjuvant to other maxillofacial procedures. FUE demands greater skills and orientation but can yield excellent results in experienced hands. Several maxillofacial surgeons have incorporated hair transplantation procedure in their aesthetic practice successfully. Sound knowledge of surgical technique, armamentarium and proper surgical planning are essential for desired results. The aim of this article is to explain FUE technique, risk and complications, holding solutions and other associated factors in detail. A simple protocol has been put forth for reference and for better understanding of the technique.

Management of androgenetic alopecia: a review

“…Scalp reduction surgery is limited to patients with cicatricial alopecia where local flaps can be made without having a secondary defect to restore. 30 Hair transplants are by far the most used surgical method for hair loss management. The two more accepted techniques for hair transplants are the follicular unit transplantation (FUT) (also known as the strip technique) and the follicular unit extraction (FUE).…”

Trichobiolight: A new, effective protocol in the treatment of androgenetic alopecia and telogen effluvium

“…[1][2][3][4] Various degrees of effectiveness have been reported with two relatively new therapy models: follicular units extraction (FUE) with stem cells to hair cloning up to skin transplantation, the so-called follicular units transplantation (FUT). [5][6][7][8] Mesotherapy is performed by multiple superficial dermal microinjections (the name "mesotherapy" means therapy in the middle layer of skin, meso = mesoderm). According to the literature, not so many studies have investigated the potential of mesotherapy in scalp baldness but the direct inoculation into the scalp of vitamins and growth factors and/or corticosteroids/finasteride/minoxidil/dutasteride together with the multiple trauma induced by the micro-injection increase the local release of cytokines and growth factors and resulted in a visible improvement of AGA.…”

“…Recently described as an autosomal dominant polygenic inheritance disease, it is highly associated with dihydrotestosterone/testosterone imbalance. As a matter of fact, any excess of DHT reduces the anagen phase and increased the telogen phase thus leading to a miniaturization of hair and to an important hair loss 2‐6 …”

“…As a matter of fact, any excess of DHT reduces the anagen phase and increased the telogen phase thus leading to a miniaturization of hair and to an important hair loss. [2][3][4][5][6] AGA is considered a relatively mild skin disease from a strict medical point of view; however, the importance of hair in people's aesthetic self-perception leads to significant distress on the quality of life of the affected people.…”

Maintaining Hair Inductivity in Human Dermal Papilla Cells: A Review of Effective Methods

“…Over the last decade, patent-pending statistics have shown increasing costs. The common treatments for hair loss include conventional chemical approaches such as minoxidil [1,2], finasteride [2], herbal extracts [3][4][5], platelet-rich plasma (PRP) [6][7][8][9], adipose-derived stem cells [10][11][12], keratinocyte-conditioned media [13], and hair transplantation [14]. None of these methods, however, have been able to bring satisfactory results.…”