Sounds good, Bill. Hopefully, Dr. Harris can find some time to get into increased detail on the forum -- 700 extractions, or grafts, per hour, like Dr. Devroye alluded to, is extremely impressive.

I also look forward to Dr. Devroye revealing more information on his prototype as it progresses; with such esteemed Dr's getting more and more involved in FUE it really gives hope that a new, truly progressive era of FUE is here to stay.

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*A Follicles Dying Wish To Clinics*

1 top-down, 1 portrait, 1 side-shot, 1 hairline....4 photos. No flash.

Follicles have asked for centuries, in ten languages, as many times so as to confuse a mathematician.

Enough is enough! Give me documentation or give me death!

Hey Bill,
Isnt it true that follicle extraction during FUT yields the least damage to follicles and, therefore,greatly increases the transplanted follicles chances of survival in the recipient site? Please respond. I sent you an email about a week ago and have not gotten a response. Thanks in advance,
Prezident

Thana,
Please Take a look at the question that I forwarded to Bill and let me know what your thoughts are. It would be greatly appreciated. I have viewed your previous postings on this site and I greatly appreciate your very candid responses. Unfortunately, in this day and age, it is very difficult to find people who are willing to dispense with the (edited for profanity) and cut to the chase! Thanks in advance.
Prezident.

Prezident,

I apologize if you've emailed me and I haven't responded. However, since I'm caught up on all my email, maybe you sent it to the wrong address? Where did you send it?

To answer your questions, most hair restoration surgeons would agree that overall, FUT via microscopic dissection produces higher yield than FUE consistently. This is due to the extra forced placed on the hair follicles during the extraction process. Below I've presented a few articles written by leading hair transplant surgeons on FUE, its benefits, limitations, and potential problems.

"What are the benefits, limitations, and potential problems with FUE/FIT?" (by Coalition member Dr. Alan Feller)

"The Evolution, Advantages and Disadvantages of Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) Hair Transplant Surgery" (by Coalition member Dr. Ron Shapiro).

In my opinion however, follicular unit extraction has come a long way and in many patients, FUE can produce hair growth yield equal to that of strip. Though most hair restoration physicians would still argue that only a select audience are actual candidates for FUE, the group of candidates continues to broaden with recent advancements in revolutionary tools designed by those surgeons dedicated to improving the FUE procedure.

In my opinon, FUE will never fully replace strip. But as time moves forward, I suspect it will become a more viable option for a larger audience of prospective hair transplant patients.

I hope this helps.

Bill

P.S. Please eliminate the use of profanity in your posts as it's a violation of the terms of service you agreed to when you signed up.

__________________
Managing Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center, the Hair Loss Q&A Blog and the Hair Loss Forum and Social Community

Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

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To learn about how I restored my hair, view my my hair loss website.

Remember, true beauty radiates from within, not from the skin.

I am not a medical professional and my words should not be taken as medical advice. All opinions and views shared are my own.

Prez, I'd agree with Bill, as well,, and the two links he posted are among the best threads around on FUE.

If I can make one subjective thought on FUE, which I've found myself thinking more and more of late. First, a statement, followed by some metaphor, and then wrap everything together: FUE has been maligned so horribly by so many (Armani being the figurehead, but certainly not a lone wolf) that it has warped perception and has created conflict when we go to talk about FUE and its yield, and how it compares to strip. We are caught balancing theory with practicality. In theory, FUE's yield should be able to rival strip every step of the way; in practicality, there is a sliding scale that varies surgeon to surgeon on when practicality begins to breaks down theory (i.e. when the limitations of FUE overwhelm the surgeon's capabilities on a given patient).

The x-factor is the evolution of hair transplantation, and how these two babies born have developed, and matured. Strip has been taken and it's principles cemented at a truly, ultra-refined level; so much so, that I would say with regard to extraction, harvesting, and yield it's reached a certain 'ne plus ultra', and simply can't reach much higher than that you can currently find with the absolute best. FUE not so, and when there isn't a *gold standard* cemented in its efficacy and so there will be more variability in results, and more confusion from a patient's perspective when evaluating clinics, even amongst the elite.

Strip is a mature adult, and you know what he will look like day to day, week to week, month to month, thus knowing what to expect. FUE, however, is a pubescent, fickle child, in a dynamic state of development and maturation. And this boy's adolescence was hijacked by the wrong crowd; resulting in to-be-expected distrust, skepticism, and criticism by what has marked him to date. Yet, this belies the character lurking beneath the surface, character that if nurtured can shine through -- and the true character of FUE has indeed begun to shine through.

I would say that FUE's yield will approximate Strip when it is performed by an elite surgeon. In part, this is because the elite surgeon will not fly too close to the sun and allow the fickleness of this pubescent child to catch him off guard and veer him into blindness. I suppose first and foremost I am advocating that you take it upon yourself to do exhaustive research -- research into the links posted above, research into individual clinics -- and determine who these elite FUE practitioners are. This site is certainly an excellent place to go about this process. Remember, FUE is a fickle child still in a state of dynamic change and evolution -- there is marked variability even amongst the best, which makes individualized research paramount, and generalized statements less useful.

__________________
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*A Follicles Dying Wish To Clinics*

1 top-down, 1 portrait, 1 side-shot, 1 hairline....4 photos. No flash.

Follicles have asked for centuries, in ten languages, as many times so as to confuse a mathematician.

Enough is enough! Give me documentation or give me death!

Thanks Bill and Thana,
your collective insights were very helpfull. For your info I underwent a 3500 FUE procedure in September 2007. Over the following year the transplanted follicles grew out beautifully and my hairline was completely restored. However, around 14 months post-op the transplanted hair began to fall out and continues to this day. The procedure was limited to zone 1. Recent bloodwork yielded perfect results. The problem is not me. It is emotionally devastating to experience the loss of my hair for a second time. What are your thoughts on what is happening in my situation. Your comments and thoughts are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Prezident.

prez, how long have the grafts been falling out? Are you sure they just aren't going through a telogen phase?

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My Hair Loss Web Site - Dr. Ron Shapiro

Prezident,

At first, I was going to post that it seems like there's been an epidemic of patients reporting transplanted hair loss however, after reading your last post, I remember receiving your email and replying. I'm not sure why you didn't receive it...but I recently transformed it into a blog article because I thought the topic of transplanted hair loss was highly important.

You can read my response to your inquiry by visiting "Losing Transplanted Hair One Year After a Hair Restoration Procedure.

Best wishes,

Bill

__________________
Managing Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center, the Hair Loss Q&A Blog and the Hair Loss Forum and Social Community

Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

Subscribe to our Newsletters | How We Recommend Physicians

-----

To learn about how I restored my hair, view my my hair loss website.

Remember, true beauty radiates from within, not from the skin.

I am not a medical professional and my words should not be taken as medical advice. All opinions and views shared are my own.

Severn,
The transplanted hair has been falling out since November 2008 and is not regrowing. The telogen phase only lasts 3 months. I initially thought the same thing but too much time has passed for the hair to still be in the telogen phase. I consulted with both a dermatologist and an internest and both do not have an explanation for the loss. I do not have any medical conditions, i do not take 'any' medication and to my knowledge the hair was not harvested from outside of the safe zone.
Prezident

Well that just doesn't make any sense then. Bill's post seems to indicate there are others posting similiar occurances but I don't remember reading any.

I wonder if this odd phenomenon has been restricted to FUE? Have you consulted with your surgeon over the matter? It sure seems like they are either going to grow or not grow. To grow out healthy then inexplicably die is very strange.

__________________
My Hair Loss Web Site - Dr. Ron Shapiro