The surgical restoration of hair performed by the technique of hair root extraction, either done by the follicular unit strip harvesting technique (FUT) or through the follicular unit extraction (FUE). The procedure chiefly followed by the transferring process in which DHT-resistant hair roots are extracted via the technique of root transfer and finally implanted into the DHT-sensitive zone where the hair loss or baldness occurs. The hair transplant procedure has a goal to cover the recipient balding part in such a cosmetic significant manner that a patient or individual get a head full of hair as per his cosmetic need and expectation.

Hair transplantation is a surgical procedure, mostly followed by the process of detaching grafts/follicles from the back and sides of the head, which is more resistant to Androgen hormone and implanting the same in the areas of lesser growth of hair or baldness. There are two methods to remove the grafts, i.e., Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE).

However, the procedure of hair transplant is applied to restore hair naturally via the hair root transfer process surgically and fulfil the cosmetic need of a person with a head full of hair.

What is the FUT Hair Transplant Technique?

The FUT hair transplant or the follicular unit transplant involves the strip harvesting from the back and sides of the scalp where the hair roots are destined to remain permanent in nature. Since the FUT technique is done by the strip harvesting technique involves the simple incision and suture followed by the advanced closure technique, i.e., the Trichophytic closure. The FUT technique gives the best permanent results because of the extraction of DHT-resistant hair roots.

What is the procedure of FUT Technique?

The FUT technique involves the simple surgical step for the incision in order to harvest the strip of the skin from the back and sides of the scalp. The incision is done in such a manner that a longitudinal strip is excised contains a number of follicular units in a single time. Furthermore, the strip is sent to the process of dissection process where expert technicians dissect every single graft under the higher magnification of German microscopes. Finally, the dissected follicular unit/ live hair grafts are implanted into the recipient balding part of the scalp. The FUT hair transplant is targeted to obtain the hair grafts only from the safe donor zone of the scalp, which gives the permanent results as the transplanted roots destined to remain permanent in nature.

The Technique of FUT Procedure in Detail:

Grafts holding a small cluster of hairs are removed from the donor area of hair (the fringe of hair around your head) in a strip in this procedure. The strip is then sent to the cutting room where under the higher magnifications of microscopes, grafts are cleaned and separated. Therefore, grafts are placed into the slits made in the bald area. These are naturally arising follicular units, which, if transplanted well, will replicate a natural growth in the bald area of the scalp.

The FUT hair restoration is the widely accepted technique, which is most suitable for covering the higher grade of Norwood class and also suitable for offering the high-density hair transplants on the patient’s scalp.

In the context of cost, the cost of hair transplant for the FUT procedure weighs less as compared to the FUE hair transplant that is also counted as the genuine option among the patients with the possibility of a higher number of grafts’ implantation. The hair transplant in India is coming into the picture as the modest cost option and the facilities that are offered by the recognised and the best hair transplant clinics in India is matched with the American standard of facilities and care. The cost of hair transplant in Jaipur (Rajasthan) and the capital New Delhi, India generally falls under the budget cost, which is just one-fourth to the cost of the USA, UK and Europe, make a turn on for the patient across the globe.

Who is the eligible Candidate for Opting the FUT Hair Transplant?

Patients having healthy donor Supply: In order to receive the FUT hair transplant, it is important to possess a good and healthy donor supply. Here, the donor area from where the hair roots are excised and so has a significant role in the hair transplant surgery. The respective patient must possess a healthy donor part, i.e., the back and sides of the scalp in order to harvest the healthy strip to fulfil the cosmetic goal of the hair transplant surgery. Since the FUT technique is a widely-accepted and result-oriented technique, it is better to receive the surgery once you get the stable state of the donor area. The Stability concern of the safe donor area: It has a great role in the hair transplant surgery to obtain the grafts only from the safe donor part in order to obtain the permanent hair roots. Therefore, it has great importance that one must possess a stable donor area which contains the sufficient number of hair roots without the chances of autoimmune disease fear or we can say the chances of the Alopecia areata. The scalp must free from the autoimmune disorder: The autoimmune disorder presents when the immune system fails to respond positively and mistakenly attacks the body own cell and thus occurs the autoimmune disorder. The Alopecia areata or the spot baldness is a type of autoimmune disorder in which small round and white patches present all over the scalp in the form of hair loss. As a result, it is difficult to perform the FUT hair transplant as all over scalp get affected by the diseases and so it would be quite difficult to harvest the healthy strip for the graft extraction that prohibits the hair transplant procedure. The Flexibility concern of the Scalp: The flexibility, concern of the scalp does matter in the hair transplant procedure as it makes the harvesting process easier. The patient must have a flexible scalp in order to get an easy insertion for grafts. The more loose scalp you have, the easier it is for the hair surgeon to implant the graft at the destined location. However, scalp laxity has an important role in the hair transplant procedure. But, if a patient possesses an exceptionally tight scalp, it prohibits the option of hair transplant surgery.

The patient shouldn’t be suspected with the DUPA: The DUPA or the diffused un-patterned hair loss is a condition in which hair loss doesn’t occur in a distinct pattern and affect mainly the back and sides of the scalp unlike the male pattern hair loss, which significantly occurs at the hairline and crown. The DUPA affect all over the scalp areas, including the safe donor part, however, it doesn’t allow the possibility of the FUT hair transplant technique. Since the donor zone is compromised with the condition of DUPA hence the hair transplant surgeon doesn’t allow the FUT hair transplant surgery.



Is there Any Side effects?

Not at all! There is no any side effect associated with the FUT hair transplant if the procedure is performed after a proper scalp examination. It is mandatory for the procedure that both the sides of the patient and doctor have gone through proper evaluation and the best hair transplant surgeons have been chosen to opt for the surgery. There is no such kind of side effects that harm a patient except the normal pain or swelling as a part of the common surgical procedure. However, it is always a good decision to opt for the FUT technique of hair restoration if you are affected by the genetic hair loss.

The hair transplant procedure is a safe and painless surgery must be performed by the expert hair transplant surgeon in order to get the best results in terms of high-density packed permanent results without even a single chance of damage and discomfort. Yet, there are some side effects in the form of swelling of scalp, pain and minor risk of infection.

What happened after Hair Transplant Surgery?

After the hair transplant procedure, one can experience soreness of scalp and thus it is advisable to take some medications in order to reduce the chances of a sore scalp, pain, swelling and minor infections.

The common side effects that one can experience after the hair transplant surgery is described below:

Pain Swelling Redness Itching

All the above side effects are very common and one can easily get the solutions with the recommended medications mandatory as a post-care follow-ups!

People easily resume their normal scheduling of work after a few days. Generally, from the very next day of the surgery, one can start their routine work. However, it is a hassle-free and safe cosmetic procedure, which doesn’t require any maintenance or lengthy post- follow-up.

Shedding of Transplanted Hair: is it Side effect?

It’s normal to fall out transplanted hair 2-3 weeks after the hair transplant surgery. It is an indication of regrowth of hair that adopts the natural characteristic of hair. It takes around 10-12 months in order to receive fuller hair growth in terms of visible cosmetic accepted outcomes. The shedding process of hair roots is very common and cannot be considered as a side effect. Shedding of hair is a universal characteristic of a hair transplant and cannot count as a serious concern. This is notified one week following the procedure and continuing for up to five to six weeks. This is also known as a shock loss that is a transient phase between the existing hair and transplanted hair. The existing hair begins to fall out and this is because, during the hair transplantation, a graft is stripped of its blood supply. As a result, the graft gets shed off and termed as the shock loss after the hair transplant surgery.

The shedding of hair corrected automatically when the new hair regrows followed by the restoration procedure, either performed by the FUT technique or through the FUE technique.

Advantages of FUT procedure

Painless technique: The FUT hair transplant surgery is a painless surgery, even having the step of strip excision from the back and sides of the scalp. The expert surgeon applies the local anaesthesia injection step in order to minimize the effect of pain up to zero levels. However, it is now not a risk to receive the strip harvesting or the FUT technique to receive the natural hair back. Scarless technique: The FUT technique is a scarless now as the modern Trichophytic closure is applied to overcome the issue of incision scar. We at Medispa centre, our Surgeon applies the trichophytic closure, and an advanced method of suture closing that gives the best scarless result, even after the strip harvesting method of the hair transplant technique. Therefore, we can say that the FUT technique is the best way to restore natural hair without having any kind of side effect or discomfort. No side effects or the maintenance required: There is no such kind of serious side effects after receiving the FUT hair transplant, except the swelling, and itching that can be easily controlled with some medications prescribed by the surgeons. However, the hair transplant procedure, especially the strip harvesting or the FUT technique is a maintenance-free and has no prospective side effects. Covers higher bald area in a single sitting: The FUT technique is the best method to cover the maximum area of baldness. The strip of the skin allows a surgeon to extract the needed number of grafts as per the required density and coverage as a number of grafts extraction gets possible via the strip harvesting and it saves the time, energy, and money of the patients. Therefore, the FUT technique is the best way to deal with the density and coverage matter associated with the hair transplant procedure. The Graft damage rate is less than 1%: Yes, the graft damage rate is very less with the FUT technique as the strip contains a number of grafts in a single session and an expert surgeon utilizes all the grafts carefully followed by the dissection process under the higher magnification of microscopes. On the other hand, FUE extraction involves the random punching processes causes unwanted graft damages during the extraction step. Gives an amazing result with a high-density hair transplant: The need for a high-density hair transplant is all easily possible to the FUT hair transplant. Since the extraction of a maximum number of grafts is possible with the FUT technique that fulfils the need for a high-density hair transplant surgery. The possibility of multiple sittings without affecting the donor density: This is the FUT technique that allows multiple sittings from the same safe donor area and one can get the best results in terms of sustainability and the strength the extracted grafts. One can go for more than two sittings if it is required in future in case of progressive hair loss with the FUT hair transplant technique. The Permanent results: The permanent result means one can get the long lasted hair follicles that remains forever on the scalp as the technique of FUT centrally focussed on the DHT-resistant hair root extraction. These DHT-resistant hair roots after the implantation process naturally adopt the normal hair characteristics and remain forever, despite being transplanted to another location on the scalp.

Limitations of FUT procedure

Must be performed by a Plastic Surgeon only

Needs a highly trained team of technicians

The cutting room compulsorily is aided with the Video-assisted Microscopes

The patient must possess a healthy donor supply in order to get healthy hair roots

The patient shouldn’t be suspected with the DUPA (diffused unpattern hair loss)

The patient must possess a stable, safe donor area in order to receive the FUT technique of hair transplant.

Two different Technique of Hair Transplant procedures is Described below:

The FUT Hair Transplant: It involves the strip of the skin excision from the back and sides of the scalp followed by the simple incision and suture. The extraction process with the FUT technique is only done from the back and sides of the scalp, which gives the best permanent results without the chances of further hair loss or miniaturization.

The FUE Hair Transplant: The FUE technique involves the individual punching process at a single time via the motorized or manual punching machine in order to extract the needed number of grafts to fulfil the need for a hair transplant surgery. The FUE technique is based on the random punching process that causes unwanted damages that works the speculation and forecasting sense in order to decide the angle and direction of hair roots for the extraction process.



Difference between FUT & FUE Hair Transplant Surgery

Type of Surgery FUT/strip method FUE Donor Area Back and sides of scalp The entire body Donor pain after procedure Moderate for most people Minimal Recipient Look Natural Natural Surgeon’s direct involvement in operating room 30-70% 50-80% Follicular unit Survival 95-100% To be studied Preservation of the hair follicles in donor area Complete To be studied Price Affordable Higher Number of grafts that could be transplanted in one session Over 4000 in proper candidate About 1500 Recovery time needed 2-3 weeks, but the patient can start their daily work just the day after the procedure Approx. 7 days Natural results Yes Yes, but the possibility of hyperpigmentation on the extracted portion Scars Minimal, if Trichophytic closure Hyperpigmentation Fatigue Not tiring Tiring

Which Technique is the Best Decision FUT or FUE?

No need to say that FUT is the best decision if you are affected by the progressive hair loss or the Androgenic alopecia (Genetic/hereditary) hair loss. This is the FUT technique that gives the permanent hair roots without even a single chance for the side effects or the damage concern during the extraction process.

Why is FUT the Best decision in the Hair Transplant Procedure?

The FUT gives a number of hair roots’ extraction in a single sitting via the strip harvesting process

The FUT is the only recommended method to sort out the issue of the genetic or hereditary baldness

The high-density hair transplant is possible with the FUT technique the strip contains a bunch of grafts that are quite possible to extract in a single time

The FUT gives only the DHT-resistant hair roots as the strip is harvested from the back and sides (occipital & parietal parts) of the scalp that remains forever as it retains the DHT-resistivity despite being transplanted to another location of the scalp

The FUT allows a surgeon to perform the multiple sessions if required in the future from the same safe donor area

There is a very minimal chance of graft damage due to the involvement of the strip excision that separates the individual grafts via the higher magnification of microscopes.

One can achieve more than 4000 grafts in a single sitting if a patient possesses a healthy and dense-packed donor area with the FUT technique

It is a modest cost option as compared to the FUE technique yet gives the best outcomes both in terms of sustainability and strength.

Dr Suneet Soni, founder of the Medispa Laser, Cosmetic & Hair Transplant Centre, Jaipur, New Delhi (India) says that FUT is a Gold standard technique of hair transplant and if performed well by the skilled hands, supported by trained technicians and aided with the innovative and advanced equipment works, can cover a higher bald area in a single sitting without damaging any graft numbers. Dr Suneet Soni has proven the power of his skills by giving high-density hair to a number of fully bald patients. He further states that FUT is a painless and scarless technique. After harvesting the strip, the opened area is closed with the advanced Trichophytic closure, which leaves no chances for the visibility of scars.