FUE vs. FUT- Does FUE really yield RESULTS????

[zo1279]

Hey everyone!

 

I want to start off by saying I have never had a HT but am in the process of researching it. I am quite knowledgeable on the topic at least for someone that never had one...I have done my due diligence and even met with a few HT docs recommended by this site. I am a Norwood 3 with hair line issues.

 

My issue I am concerned with is whether to get FUE or FUT. I have read all the posts out there and even the docs have spoke to me about it. It is my understanding based on my knowledge obtained through this whole process that FUE doesn't yield as much as FUT...perhaps 60% vs. 90% respectively give or take. I REALLLLLY don't want a scar (i know who does right?!)...and I love to wear my hair short and have worn it short my whole life (approx. 2.5-3 clip on the sides)...so I guess my question is to FUE people in regards to how have your results been...i have seen pics but they can't speak volume in comparison to actual responses from the person. I was told I would need approx. 1,800 FU's in my hairline and perhaps another session to make it dense (i.e. potential hair greed!). I want to see if FUE really yields good results bc if i could avoid a scar I would love to...I want to see what makes people go for FUT vs. FUE.

 

Please any response would be great if you could discuss your results and their yields especially if you are a Norwood 3 and had FUE hairline work. Thanks in advance!!!!

[Thehairupthere]

The yield depends on several things, one being the skill of the surgeon, another is your skin and hair quality. The 60% yield for FUE is a very harsh statistic and not very accurate, it's more along the line of 80-90% if done by a top surgeon, while FUT strip is about 95% and above in yield. The scar from the FUT is not very noticeable unless you shave your hair short, and is hidden well with a #3 on a razor setting once it heals. If you really don't want to have a scar FUE could be possible, as long as your doctor feels it's appropriate.

[zo1279]

Thanks for your rapid response! I know it would be best based on my due diligence and especially speaking with Dr. Dorin a few months back to get the FUT due to the higher yield but I wear my hair pretty short and would ideally not like the scar but it is what it is I guess...can't have everything I guess!

 

Anyone else have good/bad yield results with FUE? Thanks!!!

[Levrais]

Hi Zo,

I decided on fue for the same reasons you are considering. I think the most important thing you can do is learn the difference between docs who are truly behind the fue technique and those who have learned how to do it but are not really confident in the technique. Make sure to consult with the select few who are confident in the technique. I had hairline work that I am happy with. I hope this helps. Good luck!

[jfables]

From my experience I will say that you run the risks of getting poor yield even if you go to the most experienced fue doctors. I would only recommend it if your loss is minor and you need very little work (if you are at least in your late 27/28 years old).

[machman]

Can somebody explain me what is the difference between FUE and FUT

[orlhair1]

I was really worried about the scar when I decided to get FUT, but now that I am just short of 2 months post surgery, I already have a hard time even finding the scar. Also, some people believe that FUE does not leave a scar, but it does.....just lots of little scars. The only reason I could find to consider FUE is if you want to cut your hair really short after your transplant, you have a better shot of doing that without seeing the scar. But in many cases with FUT you can still cut it fairly short and never see the scar.

[Shadow of the EMpire State]

The thing is, you don't want to have corrective cosmetic surgery to correct your corrective cosmetic surgery. A HT is supposed to improve your appearance, but if you wind up with a noticeable scar, you may need yet another surgery to correct THAT. It's robbing Peter to pay Paul, as it were.

 

All transplants, whether FUE or strip, are bound by a singular, overriding limitation: donor supply. You could have the best surgeon getting the best yield, and you still won't be able to turn a NW 5 into a NW 1. There's just too much real estate and too few grafts to cover it. In my experience, HTs work best on guys who are NW3 and below. If you're a NW3 or less at age 35 or above, then a good HT can bring you all the way back.

 

But once you go beyond NW 3, no procedure, whether strip or FUE, is going to give you that pre-hairloss look.

Edited August 6, 2011 by Shadow of the EMpire State

[zo1279]

I appreciate your answer...you are all right! The cost is double that of FUT but I am telling myself how much does happiness cost?! I really don't want the scar and I guess I am willing to sacrifice a little to get that result (i.e. by going with FUE and also paying double). I am a Norwood 3 so it will hopefully bring me back and to add density I would prob have to get another procedure but again bringing your hair back is priceless!

[nsuede]

I concur. Me, myself, favor FUE cause of the scar pattern. period. Crudely said, I would rather have shotgun blast than smiley face. Thats me, and I also plan on having the Jason Statham look later in life... in the 70's :cool:. Yeild and coverage of FUE vs FUT are secondary for me. This is with full knowledge of price, yeild, and current limitations of FUE. The way I see it is, if Feller and Shapiro are currently doing FUE.... its being done well and is here to stay until other methods of transplantation or drugs are developed. That being said, if ur wanting to get as close to your former glory as you can, your crazy not to do FUT as of today, mainly cause of price and ease of procedure by the surgeon.

 

If you need ur noggin filled = FUT

If you need ur noggin tweaked = FUE

 

Ps. Im going against my own advice and pushing FUE on me as far as I can take it

[DoctorWho]

The yield depends on several things, one being the skill of the surgeon, another is your skin and hair quality. The 60% yield for FUE is a very harsh statistic and not very accurate, it's more along the line of 80-90% if done by a top surgeon, while FUT strip is about 95% and above in yield. The scar from the FUT is not very noticeable unless you shave your hair short, and is hidden well with a #3 on a razor setting once it heals. If you really don't want to have a scar FUE could be possible, as long as your doctor feels it's appropriate.

 

So what type of skin/hair is best suited to get the best possible yield for FUE?

[Thehairupthere]

Non scarred skin is best, so if someone has had a procedure before you wouldn't want to take from the scarred area. Elastic, healthy, not too tight skin is best. Hair quality is best when it's not too fine, thicker coarse hair is best. Also something that happens often with African American patients is that the hair curls under the dermis and can make FUE more difficult, but can still be done.

[scar5]

...thicker coarse hair is best...

Would three sumo wrestlers strapped into a VW beetle get more bruises than a couple of skinny kids strapped into the other VW beetle in the same crash test or wrecking yard crane dump?

 

I'm curious as to how you reach this conclusion, because I am frequently made aware that the cushion of fat around a follicle helps protect it, and that strip allows for more of this, and hence the strip follicle is more robust.

 

Now, if we had an 0.8mm outer diameter punch, the cushion around the hair follicle of a fine haired patient will be much thicker, in absolute and relative terms, than a guy with super thick hair, who has much less fat left around the follicle. It's obvious that the graft must compress and twist and so with more space between the rotating outer rim and the hair, it would seem the other way around if anything. Fine straight hair, more cushion, more protection. Thick hair, higher risk of damage.

 

Now you could argue that follicle bulb and hair shaft diameter are not directly correlated, but the punch size has become smaller and smaller in recent years, as small as possible, to accommodate an intact hair/bulb as a unit. The fine hair guy could do no worse, could he?

 

If the follicles had absolutely no fat or tissue on them, then yes, a wee little bulb will be more fragile, but that is not what is happening here?

[Thehairupthere]

Interesting analogy... Fine hair can still be transplanted with FUE it's just more cosmetically beneficial to have coarser hair, that was the point I was trying to get across.

[Levrais]

I think the sumo guys would burst upon impact like bursting grapes

[scar5]

OK, same goes for strip in that case. Thick hair is thick hair!

 

@Levrais, ha, at least they would have some spring about them. Better than falling apart like three watermelons.

[araveang]

I got an FUT, lols the only drawbacks is that u cant follow certain hairstyle, especially the one that are in right now... with shaved sides , tried once to go on setting 2 on the blades and the hairstylist was asking me were u in accident lols.. told him i got a hair transplant... he said he didnt believe it...

 

however my hair are thinning now since it was due for 2nd ht , i am also considering FUT or FUE, another advantages that i really got from FUT was that its almost like a facelift, i certainly noticed the tightness around the face area after the surgery and almost everyone commented i looked a lot younger (even when my hair is still fuzzy)

[home1212]

I just had my 2nd FUE procedure with Dr. Rahal, both procedures were a breeze compared to the 1st HT surgery - which was strip - that I never should have had in my mid 20's. The scar is horrible, the swelling was so severe I had to stay home for a week, my eyes were black & blue, etc. and I still got pluggy grafts for a hairline! Granted, this was the early 90's and even FUT has come a long way - except for that scar! If you want no noticeable scar and a less invasive HT surgery where you would go back to work within days, FUE is the way to go..