FUE Vs FUT Hair Transplant | Which Is the Best choice?

Feb 19, 2021

If there is one wish that most of us would like to be granted, it would be the ability to never lose our hair. However, hair growth is dependent on many factors, including but not limited to diet, age, gender, genes, lifestyle, environment, and more. On the other hand, hair loss or baldness can be an extremely stressful phenomenon. Thankfully, it can be treated with hair restoration techniques such as Follicular unit extraction (FUE) and Follicular unit transplantation (FUT).

Feel free to skip ahead if one topic catches your eye:

1. Who is a good candidate for hair transplants?

2. Hair Transplant Procedures: FUE and FUT

3. FUT and FUE: How are they different?

4. Cost of FUT and FUE Hair Transplant in Delhi

Takeaway

1. Who is a good candidate for hair transplants?

Primarily, there are two hair restoration techniques: FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) and FUT (Follicular Unit Transplantation). Both these hair transplant techniques are effective when it comes to restoring natural-looking and thicker hair.

FUE hair transplantation procedure is a good choice for patients who:

Have wavy or straight textured hair.
Want to get back to work or other duties quickly.
Require a few grafts.
Have limited scalp elasticity, which makes the small diameter punches the ideal option.
Plans to have their hair short.
Have realistic hair restoration goals that are achievable in the long term.
Are in good health overall.
Already have had one round of hair restoration procedure like FUT.

FUT hair transplantation procedure is a good choice for patients who:

Have long hair and want to retain long hair.
Require a large number of grafts.
Is a female with female pattern hair loss or a male with male pattern hair loss.
Has not lost all of the hair in the balding areas.
Has a good scalp elasticity.
Has a healthy supply of donor hair in terms of quality and quantity.
Has realistic expectations.

2. Hair Transplant Procedures: FUE and FUT

Follicular Unit Extraction

The FUE hair transplant technique is a minimally invasive surgical procedure performed under local anaesthesia (generally Marcarine and Lidocaine) and a mild relaxant such as Valium. The hair transplant surgeon extracts individual hair follicles, from the donor areas, usually the back and sides of the head. A microsurgical extraction instrument, measuring between 0.6mm and 1.0mmg in diameter, is utilised during the extraction procedure for removing the follicles.

The hair transplant surgeon then proceeds to puncture the scalp area using special microsurgical needles to insert the grafts. Thereafter, the surgeon blends the hair in and inserts the grafts at a density and angle that perfectly matches the original hair. This helps in providing resemblance to a realistic and natural hair pattern.

Ideally, an FUE hair transplant procedure can be done in a single long session or multiple smaller sessions. The duration for an FUE procedure may vary, depending on the count of grafts required. The procedure may take a couple of hours if only around 200 grafts are required. On the other hand, the procedure may stretch over two days if around 2,500 to 3,000 grafts are required.

The scalp may feel a bit sore and tight after the effect anaesthesia wears off after 3-4 hours but this soon subsides on its own. The surgeon may recommend some antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medications, and pain-relieving drugs.

Follicular Unit Transplantation

What is an FUT hair transplant? FUT hair transplant is a surgical hair restoration procedure in which the hair transplant surgeon removes a strip of skin from the back of the head (or the 'donor' site) after administering local anaesthesia. Thereafter, the strip is washed and then separated into grafts in a special room. The dissected grafts are then planted by the surgeon in the 'recipient' sites.

One of the biggest advantages of hair transplant FUT procedures is that the patient doesn't have to shave the back of their head and a larger count of grafts can be achieved with it. Secondly, FUT hair transplants are known to produce a better quality of grafts. Moreover, a low resection rate associated with FUT procedures yields superior results. FUT hair transplants are a more economical option than other hair loss treatments. The best thing is that large balding areas can be easily covered with a few FUT hair transplant sessions.

FUT hair transplants generally have a success rate of approximately 95-98 percent and is a completely safe process.

The surgeon may recommend some antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medications, and pain-relieving drugs as part of FUT hair transplant aftercare if the patient experiences FUT hair transplant side effects such as soreness, pain, discomfort, or swelling. Usually, these side effects subside on their own after a few hours. The patient may experience FUT hair transplant scar after the procedure. However, this hair transplant FUT scar can be hidden with long hairs.

3. FUT and FUE: How are they different?

We have drawn a comparison between the two types of hair transplant.

FUE

This procedure is usually chosen by men.
The harvesting method involves small round punches, usually of 0.6-1.2mm.
FUE procedure results in natural results.
The donor availability is generally restricted to 2,000 grafts.
Alternate donor sites may include body or beard hair.
FUE procedure is characterised by a good survival rate of grafts.
The balding areas will have hundreds or thousands of 2mm white dots that can be hidden even with short haircuts.
The patient may be asked to take anti-inflammatory medications, pain-relieving drugs, and antibiotics for 2-3 days.
The average donor area healing time is 1 week.
The average recipient area healing time is 10-15 days.
The patient can make a return to work on the next day after the surgery.
There are no stitches after an FUE procedure.

FUT

The FUT hair transplant procedure is chosen by both men and women.
The harvesting method involves linear excision of a strip of the scalp.
FUT hair transplant procedure results in natural results.
The donor availability is generally restricted to 3,000 grafts.
There are no alternate sites to the scalp.
FUT hair transplant procedure is characterised by a good survival rate of grafts.
A single linear scar occurs along the scalp's lower back that can be hidden with a longer haircut.
The patient may be asked to take anti-inflammatory medications, pain-relieving drugs, and antibiotics for 1-2 days.
The average donor area healing time is 2-3 weeks.
The average recipient area healing time is 10-15 days.
The patient can make a return to work after usually 1-3 days after the FUT surgery.

4. Cost of FUT and FUE Hair Transplant in Delhi

The estimated cost of the FUT hair transplant procedure is approximately INR 80,000-1,30,000 or ₹35-75 per graft. On the other hand, the estimated cost of FUE procedures is approximately INR 75,000-1,12,500 or ₹25-40 per graft. The final cost of the hair restoration procedures depends on many factors such as the expertise of the surgeon, the type of procedure performed, the general and overall health of the patient, the success rate of the hair restoration clinic, number of grafts required, etc.

At A's Clinic, you will get the most cost-effective treatment whether you opt for the FUT or FUE Hair transplants. You can reach out to us to know details about various kinds of questions like FUT hair transplant cost in India or FUT hair transplant recovery time, etc.

Takeaway

At A's Clinic, you are always assured of world-class services related to the procedure as well as the aftercare related to FUT and FUE hair transplant. Our teams of experienced and qualified medical professionals are always there to help you.