FUT and Tissue Expansion

[Afterparty76]

Hello,

 

I've had 3 previous FUT procedures roughly in the 2k range of grafts. I'm down to roughly 4-5inch remaining donor area and currently looking at 1 remaining FUT.

I've done the typical scalp stretching exercises and loosened up the scalp in the back. My surgeon recommended I consult with a separate surgeon for a tissue expansion to aid in elasticity near the back ear area. I'm struggling to find content on this and other sites that verify if this recommendation is valid. The procedure is very expensive compared to a hair transplant, and would take roughly 6months prior to the actual hair transplant to be ready. 

My general questions/thoughts:

1) Is a tissue expansion really improving my potential outcome vs just continuing to stretch my scalp manually for FUT?

2) If I cannot attain elasticity to a good margin manually, should I just do FUE and what is the comparison in grafts you can obtain?

3) Have any of you gone through a tissue expansion and felt it was worth the added time, pain, and cost?

My concerns are mostly around wanting to know if this is truly a significant benefit based on my final donor availability, or if it might be a cost grab that is unnecessary.

I appreciate any advice/thoughts you can offer.

[JoeD]

Sounds like time for an FUE 

[gillenator]

This tissue expansion approach is too risky and why employ such an unorthodox method?…FUE makes far better sense for your situation.

[Gatsby]

I almost agreed to having a tissue expansion procedure when I was young and I’m so glad looking back that I didn’t. Many of the bullets I managed to dodge came from myself when I look back in hindsight. 

[Afterparty76]

Does scalp elasticity hit a limit or can it continue to improve as you continue with stretches and time? Just trying to understand if I dont go with expansion, can I still reach an elasticity point where I can do the last FUT to maximize grafts or is there a limit of what I can do manually which defaults my option to FUE?