The primary concern of most people when arranging medical care is how much it will cost and when it comes to alleviating pain and suffering, most people have fewer options. You may be able to negotiate a lower price, but improving your health will not come for free. In the case of cosmetic surgery, though, you get to make the call. One such cosmetic procedure is hair transplant surgery. Follicular unit transplants require careful preparation and knowledge of the procedure. In the hands of a skilled surgeon, a FUT hair transplant can be a long-lasting, all-natural answer to the problem of thinning hair. Depending on the patient’s needs and financial constraints, a variety of hair transplant procedures may be employed. In this article, we would be looking at some of the things you need to know about the FUT hair transplant technique.
What Is a FUT Hair Transplant?
While the name may appear intimidating, the process is actually quite simple. A surgical procedure called Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) is used to restore hair loss by transplanting individual hair follicles (aka naturally occurring groupings of hair). One, two, or three hairs, along with the epidermis, nerves, muscles, and blood vessels that support them, make up a follicle. This procedure can be done with a devices and due to their compact size, the devices can be used in a variety of positions over the scalp. This allows hair transplant doctors to produce hair patterns that are quite natural.
Who Qualifies One For a FUT Hair Transplant?
Follicular unit transplantation is an excellent option for men who are having androgenic alopecia, often known as male pattern hair loss. Other characteristics that need to be taken into account are as follows:
- Age
If you are 25 years old or older, FUT surgery is a good option for you to consider. Surgeons should only perform procedures on patients older than 25 years old since the patterns of future hair loss are more predictable in those patients. This is a basic rule of thumb. Additionally, patients younger than 25 tend to have expectations for the result of surgery that are often more unrealistic than those of older patients.
- The Thickness of the Hair
When compared to males with thinner, finer hair, those with thicker hair can anticipate obtaining considerably denser coverage, and hence superior aesthetic effects.
- Donor Hair Density
Excellent candidates for the procedure are men who have donor areas on their scalps with a density of more than 80 follicular units per cm2, and the result will be maximum fullness. It is generally agreed that males with a donor hair density of fewer than 40 follicular units per cm2 are not good candidates for FUT surgery, and the surgeon should adjust the patient’s expectations appropriately.
- The Extent and Pattern of Baldness
Men who want to treat frontal baldness should expect the most dramatic results, and as a result, they make the greatest candidates for these procedures. You can anticipate that your surgeon will emphasize the importance of focusing grafts in the frontal scalp in order to achieve optimal long-term density with least damage to the patient’s appearance.
- Shades of Hair
Men who have lighter skin tones and lighter hair colors (such as blonde or red) are better candidates than men who have dark hair since the color difference between their hair and skin is less evident in the former group. However, using the appropriate procedure can help reduce the majority of the issues that arise with transplanting dark-haired patients.
- Patient Expectations
Ideal candidates for FUT hair transplant surgery include males who have reasonable expectations regarding the outcome of the procedure and who have a track record of being compliant with hair loss drugs and therapies (such as minoxidil, finasteride, and platelet-rich plasma).
Who Should Not Get a FUT Hair Transplant?
As with any medical procedure, there are some “red flags” that could keep someone from getting the treatment. This includes men who:
- Have unrealistic hopes for how the surgery will turn out.
- Certain mental diseases
- Donor site miniaturization
- Strange pattern of hair loss
- Lots of split hairs
- Too much shedding
- Inflammation of the scalp
- Unknown or obvious scarring
- Pain, burning, or itching in the head or on the skin
The Process of a FUT Hair Transplant
You may have come to the conclusion after reading the criteria that you are qualified to undergo FUT hair transplant surgery. If this is the case, congratulations! The following are the specifics of the operation that will be performed. During the FUT hair transplant process, a strip of skin is removed from your scalp, typically from the back of your head. This strip is then transplanted with new hair. However, the strip often does not exceed a width of one to 1.5 centimeters (0.4 to 0.6 inches). The exact size of the strip is determined by the number of follicles that are required to cover the bald areas. Following the removal of the individual hair follicles from the strip, they will then be re-implanted into your scalp. On average, hair transplant procedures take anywhere from four to eight hours to complete. The majority of patients receive a local anesthetic that numbs their scalp prior to the procedure, which allows them to remain awake throughout the procedure. After six to nine months, the majority of patients start to see the results of the procedure. On the other hand, it may take some individuals up to a year before they start to experience effects. It is essential to keep in mind that the hair that was transplanted will begin to fall out anywhere from two to eight weeks after the procedure. This is to be expected and does not call for any alarm.
FUT potential side effects and precautions
Rarely do things go wrong after FUT. When the head gets a lot of blood, it can heal quickly and stay free of infections. Less than one percent of people who have the surgery get an infection. Some likely problems that could happen are:
- Hair that doesn’t look natural
- Numbness
- Pain
- Bleeding
- Bumpy skin or scars
- Swelling
- Cysts
- Hair follicles that are inflamed (folliculitis)
- FUT scarring
- Shock hair loss
How Much Do FUT Hair Transplants Cost?
It is impossible to avoid the fact that FUT surgery is costly. This method of hair restoration can price you anywhere from $3,000 to $15,000 or even more, depending on where you reside, the specific surgeon you choose, the degree of difficulty of the treatment, and a variety of other considerations.
Conclusion
Less than one percent of patients who have FUT Hair Transplant end up developing an infection as a result of the procedure, which is a fact that should provide patients with some measure of peace of mind. There will also be a scar at the location where the operation was performed; however, it should become less noticeable over time. If you have shorter hair, the scar will most certainly be obvious; however, if you have longer hair, it will be easier to conceal. The risks associated with this procedure are relatively low, and it produces results that look completely natural. A specialist in hair transplantation will, at the end of the day, be the only one who can tell you for certain which path is the best one to take in order to meet your requirements.
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