Cutting down of grafts?

[irishsailor]

Hi there, after 2 HT's i should probably know this answer but still unsure and was curious if anyone could take the time to explain it.

When grafts are cut down can they take for example a graft with 3 hairs in it and then implant as 3 seperate hairs?

 

Regards

[N-6]

Yes I believe they take the follicular unit of lets say 3 hairs and can create 3 separate 1 hair grafts, for example, to give the hairline a more natural appearance. At the end of the day, its hairs that count not grafts. That's why I'm usually not impressed with these mega mega sessions.

[irishsailor]

N-6,

 

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Was just unsure, i know alot of people say it,s the hair count that matters not the graft count.

 

Thanks again

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

N-6

I'm not sure that is right. I could be and probably am wrong, however, I think a graft at its smallest unit is broken down as far as can go. For example, a graft with 3 hairs in it still only contains 1 graft. I really don't know what I'm talking about here. Maybe someone else will chime in. I think I just remember hearing that it's not a good idea to break down doubles and triples and quats down any further.

[N-6]

Here are some links discussing the topic:

 

Should Hair Transplant Surgeons “Split” Follicular Unit Grafts During Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT)? | Hair Loss Q & A

 

Why Cutting True Follicular Unit Grafts in a Hair Transplant May Be “Splitting Hairs” | Hair Loss Q & A

[Capelli11]

I remember asking Dr. Rahal about this and the way a hair comes out is a way it comes out...meaning if the FU is a 3 hair graft...then it has to be implanted as a 3 hair graft...I don't think they cut that 3 hair FU into say 3 grafts of 1 hair. I think whatever they pull is what they implant...don't think they dissect the grafts to specific lots of grafts as in my example above.

[N-6]

As the links demonstrate, splitting grafts seems to be fairly common. Whether Dr. Rahal does or not I don't know but it would not be surprising if he does. It is not unethical to do so if its part of a treatment plan for the hairline. It is unethical if the doctor does it to make more $$ off you. As a patient, unfortunately, I really don't think there's a way to know whether a doc is splitting grafts unnecessarily. At the end of day, as people have said over and over, its hairs that count. Assuming there's no need to split grafts, the patient who gets 4000 grafts/9000 hairs is better off than the one who gets 5000 grafts/9000 hairs. The latter patient gets swindled in this case.

[mattj]

Capelli is right. Dr Rahal doesn't split the follicular units.

 

Some clinics might take a graft containing, say, three hairs, and split it down into two or three units, and then charge the patient for those separate grafts even though they were originally the same unit. I'm not saying that every clinic who splits grafts does this, and some doctors might feel that there's a good reason to do it (a lack of single hair units for the hairline, maybe) but Dr Rahal doesn't feel it should be done.

 

It's probably best to ask your chosen doctor what he or she does and make sure you know what you're getting charged for.

[RCWest]

There's only two situations where a graft should be split: If more are needed in the hairline, or if the doctor is unethical and wants more money.

[irishsailor]

RC West,

 

Thanks for the reply, that was the main reason i asked the question. I seen a couple of Ht's were people had a high density of hair and was curious if all you needed was work to your hairline. Because you only use single hairs to the hairline i was curious to how they would conduct it if your strip yielded alot of multiple hair grafts.

 

Thanks again