How many grafts available if combining strip and fue?

[irishsailor]

Hi, was just curious if we have roughly 7 - 10000 grafts available from our donar area by strip before we possibly get some more by fue. How much in general before we exhaust our donar supply?

I appreciate it will change from person to person but was just curious how much would be available by fue once all stripped out?

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

I would say you estimate of 7k-10k for strip would be a little high...Im thinking " on average " 6k-8k via FUT....probably get another 2k via FUE....so in general terms, probably around 10k total...

[mahhong]

Yeah I think NEWHAIRPLEASE has it about right, it's more like 6-8k average from strip and perhaps another 1.5-2k average FUE.

 

As you say though, the numbers can range hugely. Without wanting to sound drab, the more important thing is a solid plan and top notch surgeons to perform the procedures. Some surgeons will be able to make grafts go further by way of their experience in planning and placing your transplanted hair, so it's not always just about getting as many grafts as possible.

 

Also, of course, depends on balding pattern. That doesn't affect the donor yield, per se, but it does have an impact on the plan. If you're heading towards NWV/VI then you might have to start thinking about getting as much donor as possible, but if you're balding more conservatively you won't need that 8-10k hopefully!

 

I'd say with both combined you should be able to get at least 6-7k and probably at most 10-12k. There will be rare exceptions both sides of that of course, but you always have to assume you're the rule and not the exception!

[irishsailor]

Gents, thanks for the replies. Yeah i suppose i was being a little over the top.

Mind you i have seen alot of fortunate guys at the moment getting more than the average

 

Hey lets all hope that things never get that bad that we exhaust our donar supply out completely:eek:

[mahhong]

Let's hope!

 

Also, to some extent the skill of the surgeon dictates how many grafts you can get, at least on a session by session basis. Guys going to the top, top doctors are consistently getting more grafts than guys who aren't. Obviously doctors can't reduce or expand on the number of grafts you physically have available, but they can make the most of your donor if they have the skills!

[BaldWhisky]

I would say you estimate of 7k-10k for strip would be a little high...Im thinking " on average " 6k-8k via FUT....probably get another 2k via FUE....so in general terms, probably around 10k total...

 

Just a question on this. Is it well documented that you get the max out by combining FUT and FUE?

For example, most people would perfom two FUT to get the 6-10k grafts. From that point you imply that a natural third HT might be best done by FUE to get more grafts. At the same time we have for example Joe from H&W here who has had four HTs, all of which FUT.

Is that more an unusual solution you think?

Of course you can get grafts from a bigger area with FUE, but on the other hand FUT would have a bettter covering effect in the donor area as the remaining grafts are stretched over a bigger area.

As you already have a scar and a thinning donor area, why not just keep going with smaller FUTs at least until the last <500-1000 grafts?

[mahhong]

Just a question on this. Is it well documented that you get the max out by combining FUT and FUE?

For example, most people would perfom two FUT to get the 6-10k grafts. From that point you imply that a natural third HT might be best done by FUE to get more grafts. At the same time we have for example Joe from H&W here who has had four HTs, all of which FUT.

Is that more an unusual solution you think?

Of course you can get grafts from a bigger area with FUE, but on the other hand FUT would have a bettter covering effect in the donor area as the remaining grafts are stretched over a bigger area.

As you already have a scar and a thinning donor area, why not just keep going with smaller FUTs at least until the last <500-1000 grafts?

 

I think it used to be the case that patients went in for several smaller sessions but, with advances in understanding and skill in so called megasessions, the tendency now is to try for fewer, larger procedures.

 

Chances are if you're going to max out your FUT and then do FUE you're pretty advanced on the balding scale (NW5+). Now, it used to be that getting 2-3,000 grafts was considered a large procedure, but these days relatively common to be getting 4-6,000 per procedure with the best doctors. That means, in principle, 2 procedures today can net you between 8-12,000 grafts, which is very likely to be the limit of your donor via FUT. That's why most people assume after two procedures your third would be FUE.

 

The jury is out on whether to max out FUT and then do FUE or use any alternative systems, but ultimately it seems to make more sense to go FUT as far as you can and use FUE for smaller, less ambitious procedures after the main bulk has been done, to do things like close temples, add a bit of density to certain places etc. FUT still has overall the best yield rates so, if you're looking to put 6,000+ grafts up there, you might as well commit and go FUT first and stand the best chance of getting good coverage and density, then use FUE (if you can and want to) to complete your transformation.

 

Most of the patients who have multiple procedures are usually either older patients who started their journey when the techniques and procedures were slightly less refined and ambitious, or men who are witnessing slow, steady thinning over the years and need repeated procedures to maintain their density and fill in areas of increased thinning. If you've lost significant amounts of hair though, and/or are not on medication and need a serious procedure to give you good coverage and as much density as possible, the larger, fewer procedures makes more sense.