Follicular unit extraction: a new armamentarium for hair restorative surgeon

Authors

  • Humayun Mohmand
  • Muhammad Ahmad

Keywords:

Hair transplant, follicular unit extraction

Abstract

Objectives To share the experience of follicular unit extraction (FUE). Patients and methods The study was conducted from January 2009 to June 2012 at the Hair Transplant Institute, Islamabad. All the patients who underwent FUE were included. SAFE system™ was used for extraction using 0.9mm or 1.0mm punch. The speed was adjusted according to the skin resistance in individual cases. After extraction, these FUs were placed in the recipient site according to the pre-operative plan. Any complication occurring during the study was also noted. Results A total of 56 patients were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 35.11 years. Majority of the patients (67.9%) belonged to the middle age group. The average number of graft harvested was 1766.25 FUs (range, 16-3582). Most of the patients (21.4%) had type VI followed by type IV (16.1%) and type V (14.3%). Most of the patients (51.8%) were smokers and 5.4% were known diabetic. There was no major complication noted. The overall satisfaction rate was 91.1%. The pain was an issue in two patients. Shaving of the hair resulted in patient’s concerns in 3 cases. Conclusion FUE is minimally invasive surgical procedure that can benefit a large number of patients. The modern technology has resulted in lower transection rates and high yield in grafts number. 

References

Gan DC, Sinclair RD. Prevalence of male and female pattern hair loss in Maryborough. J Invest Dermatol Symp Proc. 2005;10:184-89.

Otberg N, Finner AM, Shapiro J. Androgenic alopecia. Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am. 2004;36:379-98.

Gho CG, Neumann HAM. Donor hair follicle preservation by partial follicular unit extraction. A method to optimize hair transplantation. J Dermatolog Treat. 2010;Early online,1-13.

Bisaccia E, Scarborough D. Hair transplant by incisional strip harvesting. J Dermatol Surg Oncol. 1994;20:443-8.

Rassman WR, Bernstein RM, McClellan R et al. Follicular unit extraction: minimally invasive surgery for hair transplantation. Dermatol Surg. 2002;28:720-8.

Serder G, Nessin B, Gurcan A. Follicular unit extraction in hair transplantation: personal experience. Ann Plast Surg. 2008;60:127-33.

Woods R, Campbell AW. Chest hair micrografting display extended growth in scalp tissue: a case report. Br J Plast Surg. 2004;57:789-91.

Ekrem C, Mate AH, Erol K, Berna A. Evaluation of three instruments used in FUE. Hair Transplt Forum Intl. 2009;19:14-5.

Bernstein RM, Rassman WR. New instrumentation for three-step follicular unit extraction. Hair Transpl Forum Intl. 2006;16:229-37.

Harris JA. The SAFE system: New instrumentation and methodology to improve follicular unit extraction (FUE). Hair Tranpl Forum Intl. 2004;14:163-4.

Lin X, Nakazawa T, Yasuda R et al. Robotic hair harvesting system; a new proposal. Med Image Comput Assist Interv. 2011;14:113-20.

Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE): Manual and Powered-Devise_Assisted. www.ISHRS.org accessed September 15th, 2012.

Ahmad M. A technique of achieving minimal donor scar. Hair Transpl Forum Intl. 2011;21:123.

Frechet P. Minimal scars for scalp surgery. Dermatol Surg. 2007;33:45-55.

Yamamato K. Trichophytic closure of both wound edges after strip excision for hair transplantation. Hair Transpl Forum Intl. 2009;19:189-91.

Onda M, Igawa HH, Inoue K, Tanio R. Novel technique of follicular unit extraction hair transplantation with a powered punching device. Dermatol Surg. 2008;34:1683-8.

Umar S. Hair transplantation in patients with inadequate head donor hair supply using nonhead hair: report of 3 cases. Ann Plast Surg. 2011;67:332-5.

Downloads

Published

2016-12-15

How to Cite

1.
Mohmand H, Ahmad M. Follicular unit extraction: a new armamentarium for hair restorative surgeon. J Pak Assoc Dermatol [Internet]. 2016Dec.15 [cited 2025Feb.14];23(2):194-7. Available from: http://www.jpad.com.pk/index.php/jpad/article/view/307

Issue

Section

Original Articles