FUE for hairlines

[Whammy]

You hear about the dense packing for FUT procedures, do the FUE procedures from the top FUE guys like Feller and Shapiro match what they can do with FUT?

 

I believe it was spex that showed a hairline FUE and it looked pretty damn good to me.

 

For my hairline it's weird, I've had my left temple completely eroded to a Lvl II or III, and the hair behind it is light but still thick enough to not need a concealer or anything.

 

My right temple is the thickest area on my head at the hairline. I dont thick it's reached even a 1.5. For the first inch it's very thick. Probably some thinning of follicles, but minimal hair loss.

 

I figured well the left will go then the right will... but this started 7 yrs ago. I was right the left has slowly gone.. but the right remains. So my hairline is uneven. So I'm thinking well if I get an FUE it might look off because 1/2 is native, the other 1/2 is HT so there will be a line where you can tell where one ends and the other begins.

[hairthere]

The results of FUE vs. FUT for your hairline will be the same. They are just using a different method to extract the hairs (with Fue the follicles are removed via a punch like tool, with FUT a long strip of scalp is removed and then the follicles are refined). The main difference is a long linear scar (FUT) vs. tiny circular scars.

[waveskier]

Are there any negtatives to FUE that you don't have with FUT? Such as survival rate? I know it takes longer and is more expensive. Anything else people should know?

[hairthere]

The limitations/negatives with fue are with the session sizes. Fue is a very delicate surgery--it takes more time and skill to individually remove each follicle. Survival rate is slightly less, but in the hands of a top doctor shouldn't effect the yield significantly. I would be wary of docs offering FUE megasessions (we have seen one well-known clinic switch to fue solely and have lots of failures). Some patients also might not be candidates for FUE, but a surgeon won't know until some test grafts are taken. I was fortunate that my fue surgery went without a hitch and the grafts were easy to remove. Dr. Feller told me some patients are not so lucky.

[Dr. Alan Feller]

This is a great topic and should be discussed more often.

There can be no question that growth from FUE cases are not as consistent as strip procedures. The reason is obvious: the amount of trauma the graft must endure during FUE surgery, even the very best and meticulous FUE surgery, is far greater than the amount of trauma experienced by the equivalent strip graft. Simple matter of physics.

 

That said, hair follicles are pretty hardy. Ask anyone whose undergone multiple waxings, electrolysis, and laser hair removal, those little guys will often endure all of that and still come back.

 

FUE is a great procedure, but it is very exhausting and time consuming even on the best of practitioners. Smaller cases usually do better because lack of fatigue can make the difference between hurting a graft and not hurting a graft. Also, if 10% of 300 grafts don't grow, it's not nearly as obvious compared to 10% of 1,500 grafts. That is, you probably won't miss 30 grafts out of 300, but you most certainly will miss 150 grafts out of 1,500. The bigger the number of FUE gets, the more the equation works against the final result.

 

There have been some absoltuely awesome FUE results in the larger ranges, but I have yet to see anywhere near the same consistency. Should a large FUE fail, it likely will not be reported online for several obvious reasons. But do an online search and look for even the best FUE results and then compare them to that of strip consistency and presence. No contest.

 

FUE is a viable option for some patients. In fact, it may be the ONLY option for some patients, but it's failure rates are higher and this fact must be acknowledged, digested, and accepted before going for this procedure. Of course the same may be said for strip, but FUE is at the greatest disadvantage on this point.

 

Choose with your head, not with your heart. Of course no one wants a linear scar in the back of their head. Come to think of it, nobody wants an incision in the back of their head either, but most of the hesitation to have strip surgery comes from fear. Meet with your doctor and if you have trust and faith in the plan you arrive at together, then submit yourself and go for it. Strip or FUE.

 

Best of luck,

Dr. F

Edited August 10, 2010 by Dr. Alan Feller

[jacksonbrowne]

Dr . Feller,

 

Would it be correct to say that all things being equal, strip grafts result in 'better growth and consistency?'

 

in a vacuum, Let's say you harvest and plant 1000 FUT grafts on one side of the head, and 1000 FUE grafts on the other. What differences will I see/notice?

 

As a prospective patient, I understand yield isn't as high on FUE, but haven't read much in the way of quality of growth on grafts that were not killed.

 

thanks!

[jacksonbrowne]

Could someone please answer the question of what to expect between on FUE vs FUT growth? thanks!