Follicular Unit Transplant - FUT

Follicular unit transplant has become the new standard in hair restoration over the last few years in the field of hair transplantation. Follicular Unit Transplant (FUT) uses hair graft units in their natural grouping for hair transplants. Follicular units consist of one to four terminal hair follicles.

Other than normal hair follicles, each follicular unit consists of sebaceous (oil) glands, a small muscle, tiny nerves and small blood vessels. Every follicular unit is covered by the surrounding sheath that is mainly made of a protein (collagen).

A follicular unit is not only an anatomic unit, but a physiologic one. Preserving other important structures in a follicular unit helps that each hair functions normally and looks natural. This is the basis for modern hair transplant, in which the natural and undetectable results is expected with every hair transplant surgery.

Follicular Hair Transplant: The natural results

Follicular hair transplant is becoming the standard hair transplant procedure because of its natural look and functionality. One reason for its natural look is due to the fact that the surgeon has more control on the direction of the follicular grafts. Hair transplant surgeon can place follicular units in the exact natural direction and distribution.

In comparison, old techniques of micro-graft, mini-graft or plugs leaves surgeons very little to no control on the distribution and direction of each follicular unit and the way the hair units are located in the donor area dictates their final direction after hair transplant.

Before and After Hair Transplant Surgery

	One Day Before Surgery Dr. Mohebi creates a new, natural hairline to create a non-balding appearence.
	Immediately Following Surgery The area appears red and swollen. This condition will gradually fade over a four-day period.
	One Day Following Surgery The day after surgery, the patient returns to USHR for a professional hair wash and inspection.
	Ten Days Following Surgery The staples are removed. Some implanted hair will fall out but the implanted follicles will begin growing normal hair.

Exclusive FUT

The problem with follicular hair transplant is that it can only be performed when both surgeon and surgical assistants have proper training and skills. Even with skilled personnel, follicular unit hair transplants are laborious, and time consuming. Results of hair transplant surgery have greatly improved after the introduction of the stereoscopic microscope and its use in harvesting hair grafts. Studies showed that the increased magnification can greatly improve the quality of the grafts and maximize the yield of intact healthy hair.

FU, Magnified follicular units on scalp. Natural grouping of hair.

Another added benefit is that due to the small size of the hair grafts in this transplant there is little to no scarring of the tissue.

Follicular unit transplant surgery can also provide a more luxurious head of hair due to minimizing damage to the hair follicles. Hair grafts in this technique can be placed very close to each other producing adequate density with more even distribution.

A natural looking hairline is another advantage of follicular unit transplant surgery. Creating a natural looking hairline is a big advantage of using follicular unit transplant instead of mini- or micro-graft in hair transplant centers that exclusively use FUT.

A regular hair transplant surgery using follicular unit transplant usually takes about 4 to 8 hours depending on the number of grafts and extent of balding area that needs coverage.