FUE – Page 23 – Balding Blog

August 14, 2007

HairStemcell Transplantation (HST) – Balding Blog

I would like to know your opinion on this procedure: Hair Science Institute

The procedure is called “HairStemcell Transplantation” and promises near complete regrowth of the donor site. It seems way too good to be true but I want to have an expert opinion on it before I jump to any conclusions.

It seems what they are doing is Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE), but they try to differentiate from FUE with what they call a Hair Stem Cell Transplantation. It is especially confusing when they show both side by side, yet they look the same. From the photograph they provide, they are using a standard dental drill head piece.

In short, stem cells are not readily identifiable even under a microscope. So to claim stem cell transplantation is likely a misnomer or sensationalism at its best to exploit the buzz word of “stem cell”.

Finally there are no doctors mentioned on this website that is associated with “research”. I find that highly suspect.

August 3, 2007

Wait Time In Between Hair Transplant Surgeries? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Dr. Rassman:

I had a 4085 graft strip procedure in the front 2/3 or so of my scalp about a month ago. I want to have another procedure in the back third. I have some hair there but I want to thicken it. I was thinking of having a 500-1000 graft FUE procedure. How long after the first surgery do I have to wait?

Thanks

I don’t understand why you want to do an FUE if you already had a strip harvest. The scalp recovers in 2-3 months and then another surgery may be done if you are going to have it put into a completely separate area. I generally like to wait 6+ months between surgeries, because then you will be in a better position to determine where you want the new grafts and to find out if the goals of the earlier procedure were adequate to meet your needs.

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August 2, 2007

How Many FUE Sessions Can Be Done Into a Scar? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

i recently have had some fue into a scar in my hairline. It has been 6 months and approximately 60 % of the hair has grown back. I plan on doing another fue procedure in 6 months from now. My question is how many transplants can be done into a scar? I am not sure if the density of hair in the scar will ever match the density of my surrounding hair but i will try.

There is no specific limit to an FUE (follicular unit extraction) session, other than the supply of hair you have left (and the skills of the doctor / surgical staff). As long as there is enough supply and an area (such as your scar) that require more hair, you can have the FUE procedure. As a rule of thumb after only 6 months out, you may not have all the transplanted hairs grown out (some may still be dormant). I would wait at least 10 months before having another procedure in the same area.

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July 20, 2007

Strip Procedure Out-Yields FUE Procedure Every Time? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello doc,

over at the hairlossadvances.com I read the following lines from one of the most serious posters over there:

“The actual surival and yield percentages of the strip compared to the FUE will vary from patient to patient based on pysiological characteristics but, strip will out-yield fue every time”.

If this is true, how much weaker is the FUE?

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It depends on what this poster means by “yield“.

If the question is strictly about the number of grafts (yield), then you’re correct — the strip procedure is far more efficient in the yield when compared to FUE. If you mean long term survival, then I would say that the answer is tied to the organization of the team of technicians and surgeon. If you mean the ability to come close to 100% hair by hair yield, I believe that strip harvesting yields 95%+ hair for hair yield, while FUE is often less than that. In other words, transection rates with strip harvesting are usually very low (under 5%), whereas FUE transection rates can run as high as 90% and as low as 5% (depending on the skill of the doctor and the collagen make-up of the patient).

July 16, 2007

Transplanting Hair to Chest? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I want to know if you have a method of transplant that will give me chest hair…I saw a program in NY while visiting that says there is a new way of doing this through transplant…

You can transplant head hair to the chest, but it will grow long, so it will have to be clipped. FUE or strip harvesting methods will work. We have done many pubic hair transplants in people who just did not have enough of it and it works very nicely.

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June 28, 2007

Hair Loss InformationFalse Statements About FUE Published on Doctor’s Website – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Found this info on Sword site in reference to regenix regarding the FUE…any truth to this, especially in my case?

“The Follicular Unit Extraction Technique: The concept makes sense, and it sounds great! Instead of making an incision in the back of the head, simply remove each individual follicular unit with a punch blade then relocate it to the areas of thinning and loss… all in one step. The problem is, it isn’t quite that simple.

Hair follicles don’t grow straight up and down beneath the skin. They grow at angles, and each follicle can be at a dramatically different angle than the follicle next to it. It’s virtually impossible to know for sure. Clinical studies have shown that 25% to 40% of all follicular units being extracted during follicular unit extraction are destroyed. They are simply cut in half. And since we have a limited supply of donor hairs, we can’t afford to destroy even one unnecessarily. Additionally, the punch blade will leave multiple scars throughout the donor area. When follicular units are simply extracted from areas of the skin, the result is an overall thinning to the remaining hair. Follicular unit extraction procedures last, on average, 30% longer, cost more, result in less density and compromise the donor area.

Every surgeon has this procedure option at their disposal; the vast majority sees that it just isn’t in the patient’s best interest to utilize it.”

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Partial truths can be dangerous. In the right hands, under the right conditions, he is wrong about FUE. He is right that 50% or more of the follicular units can be destroyed if the doctor doing it does not know when to do the procedure and how to get out yields in the 90% range. I suspect that either the doctor who wrote this does not want to learn how to do it right, has not been trained in the procedure properly, is ignorant, or he is just incapable of doing it and does not want to admit it. I do not fault a doctor who does not want to perform FUE, but I would expect that doctor to learn what he is talking about and admit he does not know enough.

June 15, 2007

6 Months After Repair Procedure (with Photos) – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

This patient had some of the old hair plugs in his hairline, which we removed with a FUE procedure (2,200 grafts) and then created camouflage to rebuild a new frontal hairline. In just 6 months (see after photos), the early results are very impressive indeed and I would expect that the fullness will double in the next 2-3 months. Click photos to enlarge.

Before:

After (6 months later):

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June 8, 2007

I Want a Hair Transplant, But I Don’t Want a Noticeable Scar Around My Head – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

How many years are we from a transplant without a noticeable scar (Donor Scar) around someone’s head? Im sure that a lot more people (especially people with shave fades or short hair) would get a transplant if there wasnt a large ugly permanant scar around their head.

The answer is NOW!

We have a follicular unit extraction (FUE) technique called the FOX Procedure that has been pioneered by me in the early 2000s, and was presented at the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) conference in 2002. In fact, a company in San Jose is currently working on a robotic system to accomplish this task. This technology was invented and patented by Dr. Pak and I back in 1998.

The FOX/FUE technique leaves virtually undetectable scars. It is important to understand that all surgical cuts will create a scar but the FOX/FUE technique involves extracting single hair follicles, one at a time, leaving a scar the size of a small dot. Since these dots are random and small, you would not notice the scar even if you buzz cut your hair. In other words, there will be no linear scar. If you look at this earlier posting, you will see a patient who had no detectable scar even with a shaved head.

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May 9, 2007

1 Year Post-Op Photo of FUE Donor Area? – Balding Blog

doctor, can you please post a 1 year post op picture of the donor site of a patient whose undergone FOX/FUE ? how much density is left in the area i have seen the pictures of immediately after the surgery but it would be nice to see how much of hair actually fills up the donor site after such a procedure is performed! thanks and keep up the good work!

Below, please see the close-up photo of a patient who had 1108 FUE grafts done slightly over a year ago. There is a variability of scarring in any patient, some people just heal better than others. This particular patient had a good density to start with, so the missing follicular units are less evident than one might see in a person with a lower density. Also, the hypopigmentation (white spots from punctate scar formation) which is seen in some patients is not present in this patient. I hope that this helps.

Update: I added some red arrows to just a few of the spots where grafts were extracted. Can you find the other spots? There are easily another 100 places where the follicular units were removed in this field of view.

For more info, please see:

April 19, 2007

Splitting Follicles? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi!

Please review this surgery for me. http://www.ghoclinicpraha.cz/hair-loss/

What do u have to say about techniques claiming to split follicles and later transplant them sucessfully back on to head?

The GHO method is, I believe, the standard FUE procedure that I published in 2002. Dr. Gho just named it after himself. I have heard him speak and have spoken with him, so I use this as my authority on making such statements. There is a tendency to infer more than there is in his marketing efforts. Splitting hairs takes on many meaning. Dr. Kim in Japan/Korea cut hair follicles in sections, trying to get more than one hair for each. He failed to do so, often yielding hairs with less bulk when they regrow. Splitting hairs down the center rarely produces one hair, let alone two or more. Don’t believe everything you read on a website.

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