Men’s Hair Transplants

As a rule patients who require large scale implantation in one sitting must elect for FUT. This is because there is a confidence in the FUT extraction technique that a yield of between 2500 and 3000 will be possible in a single sitting. Yields of over 3000 follicles are not unheard of if scalp elasticity is high as the availability of excess scalp tissue material is the determining factor in FUT yield. Conversely it is possible that a patient with a tight scalp may only achieve a yield of up to 2200 follicles, scalp elasticity will be checked at your consultation before this procedure is recommended.

If it is determined that you are suitable for the other technique you should be aware FUE extraction takes longer to ensure integrity and optimise successful growth. The follicles are extracted 1 by 1 and are picked based on how healthy they look. As we are taking from the back we have to ensure each graft we take has at least 5-6 grafts left surrounding it otherwise it can start to thin, this is why less grafts can be taken with FUE in one sitting. The FUE option is viable to patients who require generally no more than 2200 – 3000 grafts. Cases towards the end of this scale may require 2 seperate treatments 6 months apart.

Patients should exercise extreme caution when dealing with clinics who promise to extract and implant above 3000 follicles in one treatment, irrespective of whether the proposed treatment is FUE or FUT. With FUT there is no guarantees the strip density will provide over 3000 and with FUE if they promise a graft count that high they are risking “over-harvesting” which leaves the donor area looking thin and depleted.