FUE before FUT (the easy way)

[MAGNUMpi]

Hey guys, I saw this picture in another post discussing something completely different and thought "Hey, wait. Why doesn't someone try this on purpose with a virgin scalp?"

Why not leave a strip sized piece of untouched scalp when doing FUE on the off chance that the person might need the area for FUT in the future?

 

This would make it much easier to go for FUE in the first place in an attempt to avoid a strip scar. Then down the road, if needed, they could always go strip.

 

Sounds pretty simple. What do you guys think?

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

Mag,

 

I've seen this before as well. And it's definitely an interesting idea.

 

However, I do see a few issues:

 

1) Avoiding FUE harvesting from the true safe donor region where strips are taken really limits "the gold" you can extract during the first FUE procedure. And I also think it will lead to ...

 

2) Avoiding this strip means you'll likely have to harvest more aggressively from the surrounding areas. This means a more generalized thinning around the strip region, which would make a strip scar more visible in the future.

 

3) Harvesting aggressively around the strip region, as described above, would also make me less confident about the incision wound scar I would get from the hypothetical FUT down the road. I've done multiple strips on patients with past FUE, and the punctuate scars on each side of the lips lead to a less than ideal closure. This could mean a less than ideal scar.

 

4) Avoiding a key region like this may also encourage harvesting from areas that really aren't "safe."

 

5) I'd be slightly concerned about the vascularity and healing capabilities of the donor region post-FUT simply because it was all hit hard by FUE before.

 

Now, these are just some thoughts that come to mind. However, I do applaud these doctors for trying to maximize the donor for a strip harvest in the future. I also think it speaks volumes with respect to the FUE vs FUT debate and what doctors who can truly offer both think about the value of a good strip harvest, but I'll resist the urge to step up on my soapbox here. Altogether, I still think it's better to go the other way with it (FUT then FUE), but I do see the advantage here. Dr Karadeniz participated in an excellent interview about this subject on another site. I do encourage all to watch it if they get the chance.

 

Very interesting thread! Thanks for starting it.

[pranit]

We have strongly believed that FUE is superior method compared to strip method. FUT method is very costly. FUE surgery doing less cost and it is so tiny that even with buzz cut it is usually easy to hide. It is very appreciate technique ever. my uncle also this technique refers for hair transplant