If you struggle with hair loss and recently visited a doctor, you most heard about the methods available to you to help prevent or reverse the problem. A highly recommended option is a follicular unit extraction, otherwise known as an FUE. Nearly 93% of the members of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery have performed an FUE on their patients. Below, you’ll find everything you need to know about how FUE works.

What Is Follicular Unit Extraction?

FUE is a procedure performed by trusted medical professionals to transplant healthy hair follicles into areas of the head that are either thinning or suffering from baldness. 

If possible, the doctor prefers to use hair from the scalp, typically located on the sides or back of the head. Your doctor will remove healthy hair follicles from these areas and then transplant them to the areas that are affected. Although this process could take a while, the results are more natural than strip surgery.

What Is The Process Like?

Your doctor will begin by applying a local anesthetic. Then, your doctor will remove individual follicles, typically one to four at a time. This is done with a microextraction instrument that is no more than a millimeter in diameter.

After your doctor has removed the follicles, he or she will use microneedles to make tiny holes in the affected areas of your scalp. The next step is to transplant healthy follicles into these punctures marks. When doing so, your doctor will do everything possible to ensure the transplant looks like a realistic hair pattern. Criteria considered includes:

• Original hair color
• Angle of the hair
• Density of the hair

What Is The Timeline For The Procedure?

The length of time required for a successful FUE treatment depends on how many follicles need to be transplanted. Patients have the option to complete the treatment during one extended sitting. There is the option to complete the procedure over the course of several shorter sessions. Sessions that require a few thousand grafts can stretch over the course of two days.

Most patients do not report any pain with this procedure. On average, patients tend to make a full recovery in less than a week. There is no noticeable scarring from FUE procedures. Additionally, the results of the process are permanent.

Looking To Learn More About FUE?

If you have recently noticed that your hair is thinning, have been bald for years, or are worried that male pattern baldness runs in your family, be sure to contact your doctor about the procedure.