FUE Hair Transplant

FUE hair transplant is one of the techniques of extracting the follicles from the donor area, other technique being FUT. This technique has increased the spectrum of surgeries done in hair transplant procedure. With this technique, grafts from other body areas like beard, upper chest and upper back is possible, so body to scalp hair transplant can be done.

This technique has evolved over a period of time and has reached to present day that it is very difficult to make out whether one has undergone hair transplant. The grafts are extracted using the micropunch so the area of the follicle which is inside the skin is not directly visible , so one needs a good understanding of the hair anatomy and also good experience to achieve a very low graft transection rate. The direction and the angle of follicle may change on coming out of skin posing a challenge for the surgeon. So, it is very important that the surgeon should use proper magnification and illumination so that the orientation of the naturally emerging hair can be properly observed and punch can be properly placed over them. This will avoid unnecessary transection and will reduce the chances of improper grafts thereby ensuring good result.

• Candidacy for FUE Hair Transplant:
• The patient having male pattern baldness, generally more than Norwood stage2.
• The patients who want to have short hair cuts.
• Repair or correction of previously done surgery.
• Patients who may require body to scalp hair transplant.
• Who have already undergone FUT hair transplant and have tight scalp.
• To cover the scar from previous surgery, injury or burn.

FUE Hair Transplant Procedure
After all the initial check-up and paper work, the patient is given pre-medication. Once the hypersensitivity to drugs is checked, the patient is taken to the procedure room after changing into OT dress.

Local anesthesia It blocks the pain and make the area numb where it is given. It is infiltrated into the scalp or any area where one needs to do the procedure. One can use topical cream sometimes before the injections so that the prick of the injections is also not fully felt.


Making of the recipient slits: Recipient slits are the spaces made by the doctor keeping in mind the direction and angle of the natural existing hair in that region. The density of the transplanted hair also depends on this stage of the surgery. It is very important that the operating doctor has good amount of experience in the procedure otherwise whole procedure may become a problem.


Graft extraction: Extraction of grafts is done in a way so that quality grafts are harvested. This is the step where the experience of the doctor counts as only an expert can harvest grafts without much wastage and without transection.


Implanting the grafts: The harvested grafts are placed in the slits which were made by the doctor. The key is delicate handling of the grafts while placing it.

What are Recipient sites and How these recipient sites are created?
These are numerous small incisions, which are created by surgeon in the area of hair loss where the extracted donor grafts are then placed.

The outcome of hair transplant significantly depends on how these recipient sites are created.

The recipient sites are made in such a way that the transplanted hair grows in the same direction and angle as that of the existing natural hair. The spacing and the size of the slit should be such that the graft should not pop out and the graft should fit in properly to ensure good nutritional and oxygen supply to the transplanted follicle.

We at Hair & Senses generally make lateral slit (horizontal slits) as this provide better coverage and also have proper control over the angle at which the hair will grow. With lateral slit acute angulations, which are required in crown and temporal region, can be better achieved.

Preparation of Donor area in FUE hair transplant
The area from where grafts/ follicles are harvested to be transplanted to the area of baldness is called the donor area. The primary site of the donor area is the back and sides of the scalp as the hair roots in this area are not prone to the effect of DHT. But when the scalp donor area is not sufficient then other areas like beard and upper chest can be used as donor areas in FUE Hair Transplant.

In case of scalp being used as donor, the area is shaved by one of our team member depending on the number of grafts needed. The shaving is done mainly using ‘0’ number trimmer setting.

In case of beard being also used as donor area then the patient is asked not to shave the beard for 3 days before the procedure and for chest, the shaving should not be done for at least 4-5 days by the patient so that proper visualization and extraction of the donor grafts can be done. The trimming of the area is done at our center according to the need.

After the patient is taken in to the procedure room, the area is cleaned with antiseptic solution and the area is anesthetized by infiltrating with local anesthesia. Then the extraction is done by using small punches of around 0.8mm or 0.9mm punches and still finer punches for beard and chest area. During the extraction, we particularly take care that it is done randomly and diffusely to avoid over harvesting in one particular area. Dr. Sangay takes special care to avoid transection and hence graft wastage during the donor harvesting process.

Points to remember while placing the grafts
Graft placements are one of the crucial steps in hair transplant surgery which directly affects the result of the procedure.

One of the common problems is desiccation and dehydration of the grafts. So this should be avoided by placing the grafts in saline/ ringer lactate solution or other holding solution and by taking limited number of grafts while placing.

The angle of exit of the hair from the scalp should be kept in mind and the grafts are placed to achieve this proper orientation and angulation.

Another problem while placing the grafts is popping out of grafts. Achieving the proper depth and creating recipient site with proper spacing decrease the chances of graft popping out. The recipient site which is made too close to each other and where the sites are shallow increases the chances of grafts pop outs.

Advantages of FUE Hair Transplant:
• No incision so no stitches
• No linear scar
• Less discomfort post operatively
• Faster Healing
• Return to normal routine early
• Body to scalp hair transplant can be done by this

FUE Hair Transplant has become popular among the patients as it allows early healing and also has the freedom of styling the hairs even if they want to sport short hair. As this is technically advance procedure so it is comparatively expensive in comparison to FUT procedure.

The cost mainly depends on:

- The skill and experience of the doctor: FUE hair transplant is majorly dependent on the doctor as in every step of the surgery doctor plays a key role be it recipient slits creation, extraction of the follicle or the placement of the graft follicles. So the experience of the doctor is one of the factor that plays a part in deciding the cost.

- Infrastructure of the center: The infrastructure of the place including the instruments used, hygiene protocols, proper set up all adds to cost of the procedure.

- Number of grafts to be transplanted: The cost majorly depends on the number of grafts to be transplanted. At our center we count only the high-quality grafts that are transplanted. This counting is done at every step like counting is done when slits are made, counting is done when grafts are extracted. These grafts are then examined and only good quality grafts are transplanted.

- Repair procedure: This also contributes to the cost significantly. The repair transplant requires an experienced surgeon who can handle these situations correctly. So these are technically more demanding.

• Is FUE hair transplant right for you?
• Can FUE hair transplant be done with less donor area?

The complications or side effects are very less and not so commonly encountered.

Common complaints after surgery:

These are the common general problems which are experienced by the patients after the FUE hair transplant. These can be considered more or less like sequel of the procedure.

Pain: This is generally not a problem and can be easily taken care by analgesics or pain killers.
Bleeding: Minimal bleeding may occur after hair transplant and this is more common in donor. Applying firm pressure using sterile cotton or gauze piece is enough to control the bleed.
Swelling on forehead: It generally manifests after 3-5 days of the surgery and subsides within 5-7 days. Sleeping or resting with slight head up position may help in reducing the swelling. Gentle forehead massage and applying cold packs may also help in decreasing the swelling.
Itching: One may require anti-histaminics or sometime steroid cream may also help in reducing the itching.
Numbness of the scalp: This generally takes around 2-3 months to go away.

Complication that occurs in the donor area:

Visible scarring: In FUE hair transplant problematic visible scarring occurs when over harvesting is done otherwise only tiny dots are there which are generally unnoticeable. Over harvesting is generally not a problem in skilled and experienced hands.
Donor effluvium or shedding in donor area: It occurs after 6 weeks of the procedure and is like a diffuse hair loss in FUE hair transplant. This generally resolves on its own in 3-4 months but application of minoxidil may help.
Buried grafts: This occur if improper punches are used and if the alignment of punch is not along the graft.

Complications that occur in recipient area:

Folliculitis: This may need antibiotic ointment and may requires antibiotics for 5-7 days to subside.
Poor density: This can occur due to poor graft survival or due to improper graft distribution.
Poor hairline: This may be due to poor designing and may be due to poor angulation of the grafts that are placed.
Cobblestoning: when the grafts are placed at improper depth

FUE hair transplant is procedure which has now gained much popularity in regards to the hair transplant owing to its potential advantages. These help the patients to resume work early as this has faster healing time. Healing of the donor area generally is achieved in 5-7 days

Once the transplant is done using FUE technique, there will antiseptic dressing and bandage on the scalp. This will be removed after 48 hours and first head wash will be given at the clinic itself. All the necessary instructions about the subsequent head wash will be explained by the doctor. We prefer to clean the scabs at our clinic after 10 days of surgery but if the patient is not in station then all the instructions are given regarding how to gently rub the scabs and remove them without damaging the transplanted grafts. There may be some swelling in the forehead which generally subsides in 3-5 days.

In the post-operative period patients generally experience shedding that may start 3-4 weeks after the procedure and may continue for 3 months. The hair growth starts from around 4th month onwards and full results is achieved in 10-12 months depending on patient to patient

• Hair & Senses has a team of well experienced and highly skilled doctor with highly experienced and professional staff.
• Detailed consultation and clinical examination is done by the doctor so that proper assessment and diagnosis can be reached.
• We do proper planning for each and every patient keeping in mind about the patients age, hair characteristics, availability of donor grafts.
• Proper strategy is made regarding the distribution of the grafts over the recipient area.
• Experience at Hair & Senses is essentially pain free, comfortable, smooth, co-ordinated and hassle free.
• All the essential steps like infiltrating local anesthesia, making the recipient slits and extraction of the grafts are done by the doctor itself with some support from her team and graft placement is done by the doctor with her highly trained team
• We have a minimal transaction rate.
• At Hair & Senses we follow all the standard sterilisation and disinfection protocols so the chances of infection are minimal and one does not have to worry about the hygiene and cleanliness.
• We are always there for our patients in this journey of hair transplant giving and reminding about the dos and don’ts after the procedure and answering any query of the patients.

We invite you to browse through our website to learn more about our practice. Feel free to contact us with any questions you may have about Hair Transplant or Hair & Senses or if you would like to Schedule an appointment!