FUE Hair Treatment

 

The patients, suffering from hair loss or thinning problems can undergo FUE hair treatment to restore their natural-looking hair. This loss is found in millions of people worldwide and affects the personal emotions of well being and psychology badly. There are millions of people suffering from baldness. They can restore their hair by undergoing Follicular Unit Extraction. Other procedures are also available, like Follicular Unit Transplant, Hybrid, Laser or Neo-graft. These procedures are different to some extent, but the purpose of restoration is achieved by undergoing any of the above procedure. The anatomy of hair is very interesting. By anatomic definition, it is the filamentous strands of dead keratinized cells. Keratin is the dead cell layer of proteins present in the superficial layer of skin. Soft keratin is present in the skin. The follicles produce hair and contain hard keratin which is tough and durable. Hair is divided into different parts. The root is the part that is embedded in the skin and the shaft is the portion that projects upward from the skin surface. The shaft is composed of three layers. The cuticle is the outermost layer; the cortex surrounds the medulla, and the medulla is the central core. In the follicle, the papilla is present, enriched with the blood supply. Just above the papilla, there is a germinal layer of cells that are actively dividing. The nerve endings also surround the follicles. For this reason, the pain is felt when these are stretched hard or broken by stretching. Also, there is a muscle present that erects the hair upon bringing the charged object near them.

 

In FUE hair treatment, the physician examines the patient to check if he has enough donor sites. With females, the backside of the scalp is only the donor site, while in males; the donor site can be the scalp backside or beard or chest hair. The surgery is performed in many steps. First, the medical photographs are taken with a blank background in a special pre-defined position. These pictures are most important for documentation and analysis of results after surgery. These are taken using special cameras. In the next step, the physician marks the donor and recipient areas. As follicles extraction is required, so the donor area may either be totally or partially shaved.

In the next step of undergoing the FUE hair treatment, the extraction of the follicles is required from the donor site so the physician applies the local anaesthesia to the scalp. The physician performs the extraction using millimetre surgical instruments. They have sharp cylindrical edges. After punching with these, the follicles are extracted using fine forceps. In a single session of surgery, usually, 2,000 to 3,000 follicles are extracted which contain 5,000 to 9,000 hair. This also varies from patient to patient, depending on the density of the zone of the donor area. After extraction, these are preserved in a certain solution. In the outside environment, preservation is necessary as the environment can damage them. They must be hydrated and at the optimized temperature during the time which they are outside the body. Then, by using a microscope, these follicles are separated. As the surgery session can last for hours, usually 6-8 hours, the physicians take a lunch break and also allow the patient to take some recommended food. In the next phase, the physician applies the anaesthesia to the recipient area, and an incision is made using the microneedles. The depth of the incision is optimized to avoid bleeding during surgery. Depth is also the same that synchronizes with the follicular length.

 

In the last step of FUE hair treatment, the preserved follicles are then implanted into the punched area. These are placed one by one in the bald zone considering the angle, density and directions of previously present hair. If the area is completely bald, then grafts are implanted imaginarily considering the natural pattern. After the procedure, 80% of the falls within 2-3 months later but the roots are still present in the scalp’s skin. Therefore, the fresh growth occurs 3-4 months after the surgery. These Transplanted pieces do not have genetic coding to fall, therefore they are long-lasting and do not fall like natural ones. However, later in life, they can be shed completely and the person may require more procedures for restoring the natural look. Physicians advise some precautions after the procedure to make their life longer and also to prevent any complications of surgery.