Follicular unit extraction is the newest and the most popular hair transplant technique. It is simply the removal of hair follicles one by one from a donor part of the body – usually the sides and back of the head – with a small punch device. These individual follicles are then implanted in the areas that are affected from hair loss.
Individual follicles are extracted under local anaesthesia. In the extraction procedure a small punch device – between 0.6mm and 1.0mm in diameter – is used to extract the follicular unit by making a round incision in the scalp. The result in the donor zone are tiny holes where the follicular unit use to reside.
Unlike strip surgery (FUT), FUE hair transplantation does not require large areas of the scalp to be harvested. There is also no linear scar on the back of the head, therefore no stitching required. The lack of a linear scar allows FUE patients to wear shorter hairstyles than those of FUT, who have to wear their hair longer to cover up the donor zone scarring. That is not to say that there is no scarring with FUE but since individual follicles are extracted, it only leaves small scars, which are invisible to the naked eye.
FUE generally has a quick patient recovery time and significantly lower post-operative discomfort. Patients can resume their daily activities even right after the procedure. Within two to three days, normal activities can be resumed. All scabs come off after ten to fourteen days.
The results are permanent in FUE.