Recommended daily graph limit for FUE? 1 day vs 2 day sessions

[Observatory40]

Hello all! There must be a thread written about this topic somewhere, but I've attempted to search this forum and could not locate one.

For an FUE procedure, what is the highest amount of graphs that would be safe to perform in single daily session (when the help of technicians are involved)? At what number of graphs should the procedure be extended over the course of two days to help minimize risk of potential complications? 

Would love to gather opinions from the community here on the pro's and con's of a single session vs. a two day sessions. Especially helpful for the community members here who are "wobbler" cases in the 3,600 graph range. I've seen some clinics with very low daily graph limits for FUE while others are seemingly comfortable going into the 4K range. Thoughts?

 

[Fue3361]

I'd say there's no real limit these days, depending on clinic.  You have places doing over 10k grafts FUE in one day, and doing a great job of it.

It really depends on method, size of team, experience, etc.

[DrMunibAhmad]

The higher you go, the more you’ll harvest from non safe areas and thus take grafts which are not the best ones/future proof. 

 

[GoliGoliGoli]

13 hours ago, DrMunibAhmad said:

The higher you go, the more you’ll harvest from non safe areas and thus take grafts which are not the best ones/future proof. 

 

I suppose this is because the Dr will simply be better able to see where in the donor has been tapped out when the procedures are smaller and spaced farther apart? Just want to make sure I fully understand, thanks!

Edited July 2, 2023 by GoliGoliGoli

[DrMunibAhmad]

On 7/2/2023 at 2:00 AM, GoliGoliGoli said:

I suppose this is because the Dr will simply be better able to see where in the donor has been tapped out when the procedures are smaller and spaced farther apart? Just want to make sure I fully understand, thanks!

With FUE, we like to do cherry picking. If you harvest more than 2800 grafts, you are either harvesting too close together or harvesting from non-safe areas. If neither is the case, then you will definitely harvest grafts that you wouldn't take if the session was smaller. Thus, these grafts are now taken just to reach a certain number and provide coverage, but they are not the preferred grafts. So, the larger the session, the less future-proof it is. Exception: a high Norwood scale at end-stage baldness.