FUT Hair Transplant

What is a FUT hair transplant?

Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) is an invasive surgical procedure used to treat the most extreme cases of hair loss. This treatment looks to take long strips of donor hairs, separate these into smaller follicular units, and implant them into the affected area.

Follicular Unit Transplantation is one of the long-standing bastions of hair transplant surgery. Often called the “strip harvesting method”, this treatment is well suited to treating conditions such as male pattern baldness and androgenetic alopecia.

This surgical procedure extracts a long strip of hair follicles by making a small incision into your donor site on the back of your scalp. After taking this strip, your donor hairs are then put under a microscope and intricately separated into smaller groups of individual follicular units (or “hair grafts”). Then, these small follicular units are implanted into your affected area.

If you are worried about experiencing pain during the surgery, let us put you at ease. Not only are all of our treatments are carried out by GMC registered doctors, but they are performed in CQC registered clinics. During your surgery, you will be given local anaesthetic. You won’t feel a thing!

Why should I get a FUT hair transplant?

Hair loss is a problem that can affect men and women of all ages. Did you know that at least half of all men in the UK will experiences signs of male pattern baldness by the age of 50? What is even more staggering is that this can even manifest in men as early as their 20s or 30s?

The most tell-tale sign of male pattern baldness can be found in a receding hair line and thinning on the top of their head. Often, pattern baldness is hereditary but it can sometimes be due to an overproduction of testosterone

For patients that are seeking a hair transplant in London, Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT surgery) can help to directly combat the most extreme forms of hair loss and help you feel more self-confident!

How does an FUT Hair Transplant Work?

The FUT hair transplant method is a more invasive one than an FUE as the only different is the extraction phase where a large strip of skin is excised vs individual grafts being extracted in FUE.

The same initial planning is done on the recipient area. The donor area doesn’t need to be shaved with FUT, which is why this method is more appropriate for women’s hair transplants. Local anaesthetic is injected in both donor and recipient areas just like in FUE.

The part of extraction is where the surgeon, Dr Aziz Elgindi, will excise a thin elliptical strip of skin along with the hair. This is typically 2 cms in height and 6-10 cms in length. Dr Elgindi will then close the wound with a trichophytic closure technique to minimise scarring as much as possible. Sometimes the wound has to be stapled close but this varies by patient.

The strip is then handed to our experienced technicians in order to sliver it under a microscope to separate and prepare the grafts for implantation. This part is very important as a lot of care and attention is given in order to minimise the transection rate (follicle damage rate). They are organised in groups of single follicular units (typically used for the hairline and/or eyebrows), double and triple units for density usually around the mid scalp and crown area.

The incisions are then performed by Dr Elgindi in the recipient area followed by implantation of the grafts by the skilled technicians using forceps. Care and attention is given to the incision angles and direction from the doctor. Equally hair follicles are given care and attention when implanting singles into the front hairline and then adding more doubles and triples into the areas further back to give more density.

How much does FUT surgery cost?

At our clinic, the average cost for FUT surgery is over £5,000. The cost of each transplanted follicle is between £2 and £5. Although this may be cheaper than newer treatments such as FUE. Tt is also important to consider the baggage that may come with this surgery.

To put these numbers into context, our FUE treatments usually cost between £3,500 and £6,000 depending upon the severity of baldness.

Whilst, at first, looking like the cheaper option, FUT is more invasive, the procedure leaves larger scars than alternative treatments, and requires a longer amount of time to heal. As such, we would usually recommend the more expensive FUE treatment.

Which Surgeon Performs the Procedure?

Out of all of our surgeons, only Dr Aziz Elgindi has trained in FUT transplant procedures as well as FUE. Dr Elgindi has performed hundreds of FUT procedures mostly for women and transgender people wanting a hair transplant but without the need to shave the donor area.

What is My expected recovery time?

You should be able to return to work almost immediately after your surgery. As you are only given local anaesthetic during the medical procedure, you shouldn’t be feeling dazed or docile. Many of our patients visit us during their lunch breaks or after work. We can certainly cater to your schedules.

The expected recovery time for follicular unit transplantation is between 2 and 4 weeks. Primarily, this is due to the time needed for the linear scar (from your donor site) to heal. If you are concerned about the scar present after the surgery, we recommend you keep your hair on the back and sides at a grade 4 or longer. This should help to conceal it!

Your new hairs should also begin to grow between 3 and 4 months after your surgery. Within a year, they should have fully thickened out. As with any hair transplant treatment, it is definitely worth the wait.

Are there any alternative hair transplant treatments?

FUT is one of the cheapest treatments we offer, we would certainly recommend you consider one of our alternative hair transplant treatments. Alongside FUT, we also offer FUE hair transplants:

• FUE – With this treatment, your hair follicles are intricately extracted using a 1mm punch and implanted into your receiving area. This process is the direct descendant of FUT and prides itself on its smaller scars and quicker recovery time to its older counterpart.

It is definitely important to compare each hair treatment method against one another as to decide upon which may be the best for you. To help you along your journey, you will also be offered a free consultation sessions with one of our GMC registered doctors.

What are the differences between FUE and FUT hair transplants?

Here, we have outlined some of the key differences between FUE and FUT to help you decide which hair transplantation method may be right for you! (You can also find more detailed information on the FUE vs FUT hair transplant page here.)

Suitability Of Treatment

Whilst FUT has now become a treatment that is primarily used in the most extreme cases of balding, the same can not be said for FUE. Follicular Unit Extraction is not only the industry standard for most hair transplants, but this treatment can even be extended out to beard and eyebrow transplants.

Extraction Method

The most important difference between FUT and FUE is the way in which donor hair follicles are extracted from your donor site. Given that FUE makes smaller and precise incisions than FUT, it can be used effectively in a number of transplant scenarios.

Not only this, but FUE is a quicker procedure than FUT. Again, due to the precise excision of individual hair grafts, there is no need to cut strips or stitch up scars at the end of the procedure.

Recovery Time:

FUE and FUT treatments also differ in terms of recovery time. FUE has a much shorter recovery time than FUT. Whilst FUE makes no large incisions (never larger than 1mm in diameter) upon the patients scalp, the FUT procedure requires stitches, resulting in a long linear scar on the back of the scalp. As such, many patients prefer the FUE over FUT.

With patients only needed to cover smaller scabs, as opposed to larger scars, for a shorter amount of time, it is easy to see why FUE is much preferred. Everyone wants to be back looking their best as quickly as possible!

What conclusions can we draw from these comparisons?

As the comparison above suggests, whilst FUT surgery has previously been a useful tool in treating hair loss and male pattern baldness, with new technological innovations in the industry this procedure is somewhat outdated. Our doctors recommend FUT to patients that have longer hair and that typically don’t wish to shave their donor area. FUT is typically mostly applicable to women’s hair transplants and transgender hair transplants. Other treatments, despite being slightly more expensive, offer reduced scarring, reduced recovery time, and a greater yield of new hair growth.