Good Candidates for Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)
Here at Chicago Hair Institute, we offer patients a wide array of treatments that can help them have healthy and full heads of hair again. One of the more popular surgeries available is follicular unit extraction (FUE), which can benefit many patients experiencing hair loss and hair thinning.
Let's take a moment to go over the basics of FUE and who the best candidates for the surgery are. It's important, ultimately, to stop by the practice for a consultation to find out which hair restoration options might be most ideal for you and your needs.
About Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)
Follicular unit extraction is a type of hair transplant procedure that involves the transfer of small follicular units, which are punches of 1-4 hairs. This is a major advantage over the hair transplant procedures of the past, which used larger punches for grafts or strips of donor tissue. The result is a hair transplant surgery that yields more natural results with far less visible or noticeable scarring.
General Candidacy for Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)
Good candidates for FUE are patients who have adequate density in the remaining hair at the back of the head. They should have suffered relatively stable hair loss that has maxed out by the time they undergo surgery. It's important that patients have realistic expectations about the surgery and what it can achieve, as well as the results.
Age and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)
Age is an important component of FUE candidacy. Patients should have experienced the majority of the hair loss that will occur in their life, particularly when it comes to male pattern baldness. If you undergo surgery too early, the results of the FUE will not account for any additional hair loss around the crown, which could lead to less than optimal results.
In general, the ideal age to undergo FUE is in the 30s or 40s, though it can vary from patient to patient.
Gender and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)
In many cases, men tend to be better candidates for FUE than women just given the nature of male pattern baldness. When women lose hair, they tend to experience hair thinning all over the scalp rather than in one particular area. That said, women can still consider FUE for hair restoration in certain cases, though men tend to undergo the procedure more often just as a matter of biology and physiology.
Issues with Scalp Laxity and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)
In many cases, patients who undergo FUE have tight scalps or skin that has limited skin laxity. FUE is better for these patients since the follicular units taken are small and won't cause major tightening of the scalp. By contrast, a procedure like follicular unit transplantation (FUT) takes a large strip of skin from the donor site and can lead to additional tightening of the scalp.
Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) to Correct Scalp Scarring
Given the small size of the follicular units that are used for the procedure, FUE tends to be an ideal surgery for people who have scalp scarring. This account for people who have undergone a previous hair transplant technique (e.g., plugs) and would like to mask or conceal it.
Contact Dr. Raymond Konior
To learn more about your many options for hair restoration, be sure to contact our hair restoration and transplant center today. The team here at Chicago Hair Institute will help you achieve excellent and natural-looking results that are suited to your needs.
