A follicular unit transplant is the original hair transplant. The American Board of Cosmetic Surgery explains that the procedure has existed for approximately twenty years. It works by removing a strip of skin containing healthy hair follicles. In most cases, the strip is taken from the back of the head and reaches from one ear to another. At that point, your surgeon removes the hair follicles from the skin and begins to transplant them into tiny holes made in the balding areas. But better methods now exist. So why avoid a FUT hair transplant?
Why You Should Avoid a FUT Hair Transplant?
The truth is the FUT strategy was ground-breaking for its time. It represented the first opportunity that balding people had to re-grow their hair. However, it has serious drawbacks. The procedure is lengthy and requires an expert aesthetic eye to ensure a natural-looking hairline. Additionally, the scarring can be quite serious. Patients who undergo an FUT have to take excellent care of the long scar on the back of their head as well as each individual transplant site. There is no hiding the procedure and few options for covering your scars until the hair grows long enough to obscure them.
A Better Alternative
For the vast majority of patients, a follicular unit extraction is a much more attractive option. It is a more recent development, and scientists continue to make improvements. However, it is the best way to get natural results without the heavy, prominent scars that are an unavoidable part of an FUT procedure. An FUE works in much the same way as the traditional FUT but with one major difference.
An FUE hair transplant Houston works by removing individual follicular units from the donor area rather than removing an entire section of skin. It’s a painstaking process that requires precision, but a board-certified plastic surgeon is more than up to the task. As they remove these individual units from the donor site, tiny holes are made in the balding region of the scalp. The extracted follicles are then placed to ensure the most natural pattern of hair growth. Patients may notice a bit of scarring near the extraction and transplant sites, but they will be essentially invisible after just a few weeks of natural hair growth.
The Future of Hair Restoration
Despite the efficacy of an FUE transplant, researchers have not simply stopped innovating. Rather they have continued to find faster and more comfortable ways to give patients the results they crave. The most recent example of this drive for a more perfect procedure is Neograft. At our center for a hair loss specialist Houston, Dr. Cain Linville specializes in the use of Neograft to give his patients the best possible experience and stunning results.
The Neograft system uses automation to help your surgeon achieve high-yield results with the minimum level of discomfort. For example, the hand-held extraction tool aids your surgeon in making rapid extractions that are highly precise. The automated system then helps your surgeon to optimize the placement of your transplanted follicles. Thanks to the advancements made by Neograft, patients enjoy the benefits of reduced procedure time, discomfort, downtime, and scarring. Also, transplants placed using Neograft have a higher chance of taking, increasing the quality of the patient’s results.
Evaluating Your Options
While plenty of men and women still choose to opt for a traditional follicular unit transplant, the evidence shows that an FUE, especially one aided by the Neograft system, is simply a better option. By choosing an FUE, you can significantly reduce the appearance of scarring to the point where no one would ever know you had a hair restoration procedure. An FUE with Neograft also reduces the time, pain, and stress that can accompany hair restoration.
