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Reading though different hair restoration forums and browsing through results, it appears that follicular unit transplantation (FUT) yields better results and is more consistent in comparison to follicular unit extraction (FUE). In theory if shouldn’t be the case as FUE allows you to extract any kind of graft you want whereas strip is limited and you only got what’s in a strip of skin that’s been cut off.

FUE results vary. Some results are on par with FUT and some are not so great. Many surgeons don’t do any testing. I think the only one who does it is Dr. Rassman (not sure if he still does). Many don’t even test body hair transplants (BHT) and move to the large sessions without knowing what % of grafts will grow and we all know how unpredictable BHT can be.

Disturbing part is a lot of FUE clinics advertise 100% growth or close to it. Truth is they can’t predict that even if they are the best in the field. Also, excuses such as hair color, scalp contrast and curl is the reason why some results look better than others. Yes, these are the factors but they are often used to cover up for poor yield.

This question, from a member of our hair loss social community and discussion forums, was answered by Coalition hair transplant surgeon Dr. Glenn Charles:

I had a follicular unit extraction (FUE) transplant of 500 beard hairs into my scar 12 months ago and it’s been a complete failure. It was an 18 hour procedure which was very painful. My hair transplant surgeon bent several needles when trying to penetrate my scar. The grafts were out of my body for 15 hours. Here I am a year later and my scar is the same as before. Do you think the time out of the body was too long for the grafts to survive? I tried to ask this question to the doctor but she said follicular unit grafts can survive up to 24 hours. I emailed this doctor a few times and she won’t reply.

Grafts survival rates do decline the longer they are out of body. It has been shown that a graft can survive up to 24 hours. However, those studies had the grafts in refrigerated saline dishes. I wonder if your hair restoration physician is getting your email because not responding to them is no way to treat a patient. Even if the results are not great.

Grafting into scars is always difficult and very unpredictable.

Dr. Glenn Charles

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David (TakingThePlunge)
Editorial Assistant and Forum Co-Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q & A Blog.
To share ideas with other hair loss sufferers visit the hair loss forum and social community

Recommended hair restoration physician Dr. Sanusi Umar of Redondo Beach, CA was recently featured in a segment on ABC’s Good Morning America about eyebrow hair transplantation.

Dr. Umar is not only world-renowned for performing state of the art follicular unit extraction (FUE) hair transplant surgery, but is arguably the world’s leading expert in the field of body hair transplantation (BHT).

Body hair transplants allow for the harvesting of hair follicles from virtually anywhere on the body including the face, arms and legs for implantation into balding scalps, eyebrows, beards or other areas of hair loss.

Anyone seeking follicular unit extraction hair transplantation, repair work or body hair transplants in California and beyond are encouraged to consider Dr. Umar. To learn more about Dr. Umar and his technique, click on his recommendation profile above and view the below clip.

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David (TakingThePlunge)
Editorial Assistant and Forum Co-Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q & A Blog.
To share ideas with other hair loss sufferers visit the hair loss forum and social community

Get Proven Treatments at the Best Prices by visiting our new online hair loss treatment shop.

Technorati Tags: hair restoration, hair transplantation, follicular unit extraction, FUE, hair transplant, body hair transplantation, BHT, balding, hair loss, hair transplants

Whether or not hair duplication (formerly known as “autocloning“) may become a true cure for hair loss in the near future has been a hot topic of discussion since the topic was introduced by Coalition member Dr. Jerry Cooley at the 2010 Annual Scientific International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) Scientific Meeting.  Dr. Cooley recently presented a brief presentation at last year’s 2012 ISHRS Meeting.  To view the highlights of his findings, visit the 2012 Annual Scientific ISHRS Meeting.

Hair Duplication (autocloning) works on the principle that a hair, when plucked properly, will emerge with its epithelial cells and follicular stem cells intact.  According to Dr. Cooley, applying ACell (a natural agent regularly used in optimal wound healing) to the plucked hair and implanting it into the scalp stimulates the body’s natural regenerative potential to create new hair follicles.  Since plucked hairs also regrow in the original site, a potentially limitless donor supply is created, providing hair loss sufferers with the possibility of restoring a full head of hair.

Below, world renowned hair transplant surgeon Dr. Cooley  presents his ongoing research on the use of ACell MatriStem for wound healing and the promising hair duplication technique.   While the below, preliminary data gives hope to hair loss sufferers waiting for hair multiplication technology to provide a cure for baldness, much more research and testing is required.

To view the entire power point presentation, click here.

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What is ACell?

Although the majority of hair transplantation procedures involve extraction from the “hair loss resistant” region in the back of the scalp and implantation to thinning areas in the front of the scalp, hair transplant surgery has many other applications.

In reality, after hair is removed from the back of the scalp, it can technically be transplanted to any region of the body (where hair normally grows). Some popular implantation sites include the beard region (in individuals with thin or “patchy” facial hair), the chest region, the pubic region, and the eyebrow region.

However, more so than some other transplant procedures, eyebrow restoration is very technical, and achieving natural results requires skill, training, and an artistic eye. Recently, Coalition hair transplant surgeon Dr. Steven Gabel demonstrated the technical skill required for eyebrow restoration by sharing an eyebrow transplant case on our Hair Restoration Discussion Forums.

During the case, Dr. Gabel restored the eyebrows of a patient who’s once thick brows were now sparse and thin. Dr. Gabel was able to use 230 single hair follicular unit grafts from the universal donor region to naturally restore the patient’s eyebrows. According to Dr. Gabel, achieving natural eyebrow transplantation results requires an intricate knowledge of the natural growth of eyebrow hair, and the ability to recreate this appearance with transplanted single hair grafts. According to Dr. Gabel:

This question, from a member of our Hair Loss Social Community and Discussion Forums, was answered by recommended hair transplant surgeon Dr. Richard Mejia:

What is the advancement in hair restoration technology if one can’t get enough hair on head? What about taking hair from the body? I heard it has helped many people like me.

This question comes from a member of our hair loss social community and discussion forums: 

Recently, I heard an individual discussing “hair plugs,” and I was wondering if these are still used in modern hair transplant surgery? Does this term refer to a recent technique? What are hair plugs?

“Hair plugs” is term used to describe the mini and multi-unit grafts used in hair restoration procedures from the 1950s until the late 1980s.

During these outdated procedures, hair transplant surgeons utilized large punch tools to remove pieces of hair-bearing scalp from the universal donor region. Although these grafts were removed in a manner similar to modern Follicular Unit Extraction, the 2-4 mm grafts were excessively large and contained multiple follicular units.

After removal, the mini/multi-unit grafts were placed into large incision sites made in the recipient region. However, because of the graft size and nutrient requirements, physicians feared that placing the implants too close together or in too great of numbers would compromise scalp blood supply and cause graft necrosis. To avoid this issue, the hair restoration physicians would place a small number of grafts at a noticeable distance apart, allow time for a certain level of blood supply regrowth, and then ask the patient to return for another round of graft placement between the existing grafts. In theory, repeating this process would eventually allow for a natural, aesthetically pleasing hair transplant result.

This question comes from a member of our hair loss social community and discussion forums: 

I’m 19 years old, and although I have no signs of hair loss, I’ve always hated my high hairline and “big forehead.” I want to fix this issue, and I’m wondering if I could undergo a hairline lowering procedure?

Personally, I rarely see any signs of androgenic alopecia (male pattern baldness) or abnormally high hairlines in most teenage patients who share concerns about high hairlines/big foreheads on the community.

If you were losing hair, you could, at your age, consider Rogaine (minoxidil) or Propecia (finasteride), but if you aren’t actually losing hair, there are really no indications for this type of therapy. What’s more, males usually lower hairlines via hair transplantation (Follicular Unit Transplantation/FUT or Follicular Unit Extraction/FUE) and not a hairline lowering procedure, but you’re likely a bit too young for this as well.

If you wanted, you could consult with a VERY trusted hair transplant surgeon (as a doctor who hasn’t been reviewed and proven could push you into a surgery you’d regret ten years down the road) and discuss your options, but my guess is that they would recommend monitoring your scalp for any signs of hair loss, stabilizing your hair until your mid to late twenties, and then undergoing a hair transplant procedure to lower the existing hairline.

However, be very wary of any physician who suggests surgery at this point in time.

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Blake – aka Future_HT_Doc

With a unique emphasis on the ways in which hair restoration surgery can serve as a useful adjunct to their practice, Dr. Carlos K. Wesley has been invited to deliver a Grand Rounds lecture to the University of Colorado Department of Dermatology.  In addition to sharing with his colleagues current approaches to achieving the most natural appearance, Dr. Wesley’s lecture is to highlight corrective strategies in both male and female patients who have undergone facelifts, wide-margin excisions of skin cancers, and notable skin trauma to hair-bearing areas of the body.

Corrective strategies can be viewed in the slides below and include: transplanting at low density in areas of compromised blood supply (e.g. scar tissue, skin flaps, and skin grafts).  Strategies also include covering a large defect with either a skin graft or flap and transplanting hair follicles using a design to re-established a normal pattern of hair loss (as seen in the brief video clip here).

The lecture will provide a foundation for physicians who are not otherwise familiar with the field of hair transplant surgery.  In addition, it will provide insights and anecdotes regarding the use of hair transplantation coupled with full-thickness skin grafts and pedicled flaps.  Pedicled flaps are skin flaps that have an edge left attached to the donor site so that they retain their own blood supply when transposed (moved) to cover a new area (this is commonly used in breast reconstructive surgery).  In these scenarios, blood supply is often the limiting factor related to the ultimate success of the surgery.  Therefore, Dr. Wesley will describe methods to maximize hair follicle survival after transplantation.  In addition to minimizing trauma by lowering the density and the depth of incisions during transplantation, use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has shown some promise in retaining good survival of transplanted hair follicles.

This question comes from a member of our hair loss social community and discussion forums: 

I’ve already undergone a follicular unit extraction (FUE) procedure, and I’m anticipating more hair transplant surgeries in the future. Because of this, I’m wondering if I should investigate body hair transplantation (BHT), specifically a transplant using beard hairs? I’ve heard these grafts actually provide better scalp coverage? Is this true? Should I investigate a BHT procedure?

Technically, beard hairs are naturally coarser than scalp hairs and, therefore, could provide better scalp coverage. However, just because these grafts can cover more scalp does not mean they should be utilized as first-line treatment during a hair restoration procedure.

Unlike scalp hairs, beard hairs possess slightly different cycling characteristics and would not grow and shed at the same rate at the rest of the scalp hairs.  Many leading hair restoration physicians however, do feel that using beard hair is more viable than hair from other parts of the body, which possess even shorter growth cycles.

Most leading hair transplant surgeons suggest depleting the use of scalp hair prior to moving onto beard and body hair.  Although the beard grafts may provide thick coverage and can be a good source of secondary hair for repair procedures, they are still from a “foreign” source and may not appear as natural as hair attained through scalp FUE. While body hair transplants may serve an important purpose in repair procedures or situation where the traditional donor supply is depleted, they should likely only be utilized as a last resort and in extenuating circumstances.