Everyone has heard or seen horror stories about hair transplantation, perhaps in a magazine, online or, even worse, seeing the obvious “plugs” in a friend or older parent. However, hair transplantation has made major leaps in recent years to make it, safe and not too risky for people suffering from male pattern baldness, a viable option, many celebrities such as Nicholas Cage, Brendan Fraser Mather MOcanhey, Dwayne Johnson (‘the Rock (WWE) Salman Khan (Bollywood) and even Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi [phave undergone hair transplant surgery, although the stigma is such that none of them has publicly admitted.

History of hair transplantation

Dr. Okuda, a Japanese dermatologist, is the origin of the hair transplant and published in 1939 in a Japanese medical journal a revolutionary method of using small grafts similar to the way hair transplant is performed today ‘hui. This method involves the use of hair transplant transplants to correct hair that has been lost in various parts of the body, including the scalp, eyebrows and mustaches.

In the late 50s, a doctor in particular, Dr. Norman Orentreich began to experiment with the idea of ​​moving or transplanting the hair on the back and sides of the head into the bald spots. Dr. Orentreich’s experiments showed that when bald resistant hair was moved from the back and sides of the head, they retain their bald resistant genetic traits, regardless of where they were transplanted.

This principle, known as “donor dominance”, established that hair could be transplanted into donor areas resistant to balding areas and continue to grow throughout their lives. This laid the foundation for modern hair transplantation. Hair transplantation gained popularity in the 60s and 70s. The standard of care, however, concerned the use of larger grafts, removed by round bumps and often with many hairs.

Hair transplantation changed radically

In the 1980s, hair transplantation changed radically, with larger punch implants gradually being replaced by a more sophisticated combination of mini and micro grafts. This hair transplant of “miniscule micro-transplant combinations” no longer used the punch to extract the bare-resistant grafts. A band of bald hair was surgically removed from the back of the head and cut into mini and micro grafts.

Types of hair transplantation

There are two main methods for follicular unit transplantation. Follicular unit transplantation, commonly known as FUT or “band surgery” and extraction of follicular units, commonly called FUE. The main difference is the method for extracting transplanted hair. FUT and FUE are really complementary forms of HT, not competing methods that must be chosen.

FUT versus FUE

The 1990s saw the gradual introduction of a very sophisticated surgical procedure, now called the Follicular Hair Transplantation Unit or FUT. This demanding and labor-intensive procedure transposes hair into “groups of follicular units” in which they grow naturally.

The concept of complete hair transplantation

The concept of complete hair transplantation with only follicular units was proposed by Dr. Robert Bernstein and was described in the publication “Follicular Transplantation” by Bernstein and Rassman, 1995. The introduction of the binocular microscope by Dr. Bobby Limmer of San Antonio Texas in the late 1980s.

Dr. Limmer discovered that by using a microscope to examine the donor tissue, he was able to successfully isolate the natural follicular units and cut them into individual grafts. Dr. Limmer shared his techniques and discoveries with his colleagues and with the Drs. Bernstein, Rassman and Seager were convincing advocates of the hair of the follicular unit.

The process involving follicular hair transplants is considered the most effective in hair transplantation methods. With the follicular hair transplant, the surgeon transports the hair from the permanent area at the back of the scalp to the affected areas.

If you want to cover a large area, you probably want FUT because the number of transplants is cheaper for the price paid. If you absolutely do not want to undergo a striptease operation because you worry about scars, then FUE is your only alternative.

Contrary to what we often think, both methods leave traces. FUT will leave a narrow line at the back of your head, while FUE will leave small, unpigmented dots on your back. The only difference is that FUE scars are not concentrated and are therefore more difficult to detect when wearing short hair.

There is no doubt that FUE procedures are more stringent for transplants than FUT procedures. As a result, the final growth yields are often lower for FUE than for FUT. But both procedures work for the most part. Ask your doctor which is best for you.