HairMetal Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 Its obvious that FUT doesn't work if one wants to keep a very short hair-cut or a shaved head, as it would leave a big strip scar. FUE might still leave the donor region "moth-eaten", but I was wondering if an expert surgeon might be able to pull of the surgery without visibly scarring the donor region, if less number of grafts are transplanted. So my question is, what is approximately the maximum number of grafts that can be transplanted with FUE without leaving the donor region "moth-eaten". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Mickey85 Posted March 31, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted March 31, 2013 It really depends on the punch size, surgeon skill, hair color to scalp color difference, how many grafts taken and the original density of your donor. Very hard to give an approximate number. Most surgeons say you should be able to shave down to a grade 1 or 2, with the latter(grade 2) being for bigger FUE sessions. But there are no guarantees unfortunately. I have seen some donors after 4,000 grafts that do not look scarred at all. But that is not the typical result as 4,000 FUE grafts is a heavy hit on alot of people's donors... The only 2 threads you will ever need: Revamped Advantages/Disadvantages of FUE. Myths dispelled. Educate yourself Everything FUE. Manual, motorized, ARTAS, NeoGraft, physician details and more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNX1 Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 how ur skin heals plays a huge role. if ur asian or black ur more likely to see visible scaring. hispanics have more hair per square inch then others on average. the question is not whether or not you will scar cause anytime you cut the skin and it heals there will be scaring. the question is will the scars be visible and there are many variables. obviously the punch size plays a role but most top FUE doctors are using about the same punch size these days so thats not gonna be the primary detremining factor. the density of the donor zone will play the biggest role imo. less density means you have less hair there and therefore the more hair removed the less dense it will be. it also depends on how many 1's, 2's, 3's and 4's are taken from the donor zone and the size of ur head plays a role in how many grafts are needed to cover an area. not all head sizes are the same and therefore some may require more grafts to cover a blading area. the thickness of ur hair will play a role as well. and then there is own body's ability to heal and sometimes the "X" factor comes into play. many variables. plenty of FUE doctors are taking 3500-4000 grafts these days without leaving noticable scars on ur head as long as ur have somewhat dense hair and a good supply of donor hair. the beauty of FUE is ur not limited to the head. u have beard/body as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Mickey85 Posted March 31, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted March 31, 2013 GNX1 I disgree with the notion that most Doc's use the same punch size. Even Doctor's that use the famous CIT manual punch all have different opinions on what punch to use. Alot do use a variety of punches depending on if they are extracting a triple hair graft or single hair graft etc but some like Dr De Reys state they use only a .8mm punch. Some Doctors go from .75mm up to 9mm while some go from .8mm to 1mm etc. Slight discrepancies but quite major in the scheme of things. The only 2 threads you will ever need: Revamped Advantages/Disadvantages of FUE. Myths dispelled. Educate yourself Everything FUE. Manual, motorized, ARTAS, NeoGraft, physician details and more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Blake Bloxham Posted March 31, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted March 31, 2013 Like a few others said, it's going to depend on a variety of variables. However, in general terms, I've heard donor thinning is apparent after approximately 50% of the available grafts are extracted via FUE. "Doc" Blake Bloxham - formerly "Future_HT_Doc" Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant for the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center, the Hair Loss Q&A Blog, and the Hair Restoration Forum All opinions are my own and my advice does not constitute as medical advice. All medical questions and concerns should be addressed by a personal physician. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNX1 Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 GNX1 I disgree with the notion that most Doc's use the same punch size. Even Doctor's that use the famous CIT manual punch all have different opinions on what punch to use. Alot do use a variety of punches depending on if they are extracting a triple hair graft or single hair graft etc but some like Dr De Reys state they use only a .8mm punch. Some Doctors go from .75mm up to 9mm while some go from .8mm to 1mm etc. Slight discrepancies but quite major in the scheme of things.I didnt say they all use the same pouch size for each sized graft extracted but .75mm has not been proven to exhibit any more visible scaring then .9mm. a 1mm punch would not be used for a single follicle graft these days. scaring will likely be more evident with over harvesting then punch size unless the HT doctor is using some huge punch for ALL grafts and if thats the case then he shud be avoided. Bisigna has already demonstrated 0.75 - .8mm punch can remove a 3-4 hair FU's without peripheral damage to surrounding FU's and no visible scaring to the naked eye. overharvesting, extraction pattern and hair charteristics seem to play the greatest role in whether or not scaring will be evident with the average caucasion patient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member RecedingTide Posted March 31, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted March 31, 2013 Like a few others said, it's going to depend on a variety of variables. However, in general terms, I've heard donor thinning is apparent after approximately 50% of the available grafts are extracted via FUE. Bisanga will say closer to 30% but if 50% is the threshold it actually means 9000 FUE is possible for many but it's really hard to know. For sure cost is an issue but even still I haven't seen too many big restorations by FUE. Well I guess time and session size makes it much slower to restore big areas with FUE alone. I would think the top guys with 0.9mm punches and smaller could go to 40% for most. Interesting discussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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