FUT Strip Hair Transplants

WHAT IS FUT?

Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) is a surgical procedure where hair is transplanted from the permanent safe zone: the area in the back and sides of the scalp where hair typically is not affected by hair loss, to areas in need, usually frontal regions, mid-scalp and vertex (crown). The back and side areas are resistant to Dihydrotestosterone (DHT, which is responsible for hair loss) and that’s why hair transplants are successful procedures.

It was discovered back in the 1950′s that the hair on the back of the scalp does not have the receptors for the hormones that attack and shrink hair, thus these hairs can be used as donor hairs and will last forever not fall out.

The naturally looking result is given by using only natural follicular units which contain 1-4 hairs. It is primordial to use one hair graft to create a proper hairline according to the patient’s needs. At Hair 4 Life Dr. Kelemen creates the hairline taking into consideration the patient’s ethnicity, age, and needs.  It is never a “one fits all” procedure.

The arrangement and positioning of these follicular unit grafts determine the aesthetic qualities of a hair transplant, and so this arrangement must be decided on a case-by-case basis, depending on the patient’s history of hair loss and the likelihood of future hair loss.

Since follicular unit transplants mimic the way hair grows in nature, the results, in expert hands, will look completely natural and be indistinguishable from one’s original hair.

After Dr. Kelemen does the local anesthesia a strip from the back of the scalp is removed. Dr. Kelemen’s outstanding suturing technique will usually heal with no complications. The patients usually report pain of 1-2 on a scale of 1-10 with ten being the most severe pain a patient can experience, during the first night.

The strip is carefully dissected under the microscope into tiny slivers that will be processed into hair micro grafts. As mentioned above the micro grafts are composed of a number of one to four hairs, and rarely five hairs.

While this process is being done Dr. Kelemen is making the recipient sites using an individualized tiny blade according to the size, shape, and length of the grafts. That is why in our clinic we never make the recipients site before having the grafts prepared. The follicular units are preserved as they naturally occur with no splitting of them.

According to our experience, about 10-15% of grafts come as single hairs and those are going to be used to create the natural-looking hairline.

Using this FUT technique, hair can be placed on the top of the head, the eyebrows, or even the beard and mustache areas. Although there is a strip removed, the scar is easily covered by existing hair or SMP (scalp micro pigmentation).

Here’s a summary of what will happen during your procedure should you decide to opt for this hair transplantation method:

1. Kelemen will design the hairline on the patient’s scalp, according to their age, ethnicity, and needs and will make sure that the patient likes it before moving forward. The donor area margins will also be marked. This is usually a one-centimeter width strip, and the length will be dictated by the needs of the number of grafts.
2. Photographs will be taken for patients’ records both before the design of the hairline and after the design of the hairline.
3. The patient will be offered a mild sedative (anxiolytic medication) that will provide comfort and relaxation during the surgery.
4. In our clinic, Dr. Kelemen is the one and only that performs the local anesthesia, and this is done under the administration of Pro-Nox™ nitrous oxide gas (laughing gas) that additionally with the sedative will make you feel even more comfortable. You will be awake throughout but will feel no pain.
5. At the donor site, the hair will be trimmed to about 2 millimeters long.
6. The physician will excise the strip of skin containing the hair follicles for the grafts.
7. The strip will be prepared under the microscope into slivers and then into grafts.
8. The area where the strip was removed will be sutured and closed.
9. The Kelemen will make the sites where grafts will be implanted. This is never done prior to the removal of grafts so that Dr. Kelemen can adjust the size of the incision to perfectly correlate to the individual size of a patient’s grafts.
10. The grafts will be inserted into the recipient sites created by the Kelemen. Unlike other clinics, at Hair 4 Life to assure the greatest patient results and satisfaction, Dr. Kelemen is inserting the grafts along with her assistants.
11. The Hair 4 Life will provide the necessary medications and supplies needed at no additional cost to the patient.
12. The next day Dr. Kelemen will see the patient and will shampoo the patient’s scalp, making sure that the donor area and the recipient area are healing properly as well as all grafts are situated correctly and have not dislodged.
13. Our patients are given three sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy sessions to help facilitate faster healing and growth.

At Hair 4 Life we understand that this is a big decision for our patients and want our patients to know that we are listening to them.  We will help guide our patients but ultimately this is your journey, and we will do what we can to facilitate your dreams of hair restoration.

Contact Us or call Hair 4 Life at (480) 525-4547 to schedule an appointment and get your free consultation.