FUE Hair Transplant - Direct Hair Implantation
Hair restoration has come a long way since the days of invasive hair transplants that left severe scarring and doll-like circular hair plugs. With new technology, good hair transplants are no longer noticeable and achieve much better results. If you are contemplating taking the next step in conquering thinning hair and saying so long to baldness, the Follicular Unit Extraction -FUE- hair transplant surgery is the perfect procedure for you.
In the past, groups of up to 50 to 100 hairs were removed from a donor strip and placed together in the thinning areas. This left a spotty appearance of areas of hair and no hair along the scalp. To put it bluntly, those with a keen eye could tell instantly that a hair transplant had occurred, and it wasn’t a good one. Plus, the scarring was often quite evident.
Then we have the Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT), also known as the “strip” method. A strip of skin with healthy hair is removed with a scalpel from the back of the head. The strip is placed under the microscope, and the technicians carefully dissect the strip into individual hair follicles.
After surgery, the donor area of the scalp is stitched closed, and the stitches are removed after ten days, leaving the donor area to heal with a small linear scar.
FUE is the Gold Standard in Hair Transplantation.
It is safe, minimally invasive and creates no visible scarring.
The advantages of the FUE hair transplant procedure compared to the traditional FUT method are:
– No Linear Scar
– Minimally Invasive
– Quicker Recovery Time and Less Discomfort
– Virtually Undetectable Scarring
– Ability to wear your hair very short.
On the day of the procedure, you are welcomed at our state-of-the-art clinic in Glasgow by our team and Dr Bonaros, the lead hair transplant surgeon who will take you through the procedure and consent forms in detail.
To prepare the donor area for harvesting the grafts, the hair is usually clipped short, to about 1-2mm. This length allows optimal harvesting. However, patients undergoing hair restoration surgery do not always have to shave their heads. Shaving lines of hair off the back of the head is an excellent option for males and females that wear their hair long and want a discreet hair transplant. FUE hair transplantation can also be performed partially unshaven, in which only the hair in the donor area is shaved to allow patients to maintain their hairstyle.
A fully unshaven procedure is not suitable for all patients, particularly if they have suffered extensive hair loss requiring many grafts. During your consultation, Dr Bonaros will recommend the hair transplant procedure that will give you the best results.
In the case of white or blond hair, our standard practice is to use a temporary dye after shaving the hair. This practice improves the visualization of the hair follicles and increases the accuracy and speed of follicular excision.
Once the donor area is trimmed, we take digital photos with our wireless, polarizing digital Trichoscope to identify the unique qualities of the follicular units. This innovative device reveals the characteristics of your hair follicles, such as the hair direction, angle, curl of hair, the cross-sectional diameter of the hair shaft, and the proportion of hair per graft. We use this information to make data-based decisions on the type and size of the equipment we will use and create the best strategies for each patient.
We produce great-looking hair transplant results by using cutting-edge equipment and up-to-date protocols.
The FUE procedure starts with either manual or motorised extraction of healthy hair follicles from the safe donor area. The latter is located on the back and sides of the head, where the hair is genetically resistant to male pattern baldness. The hair follicles are extracted using special surgical micro-punches with sizes ranging from 0.6 mm to 1mm. We select the micro-punch size based on each patient’s hair characteristics to minimise follicular transection and trauma. The grafts are always harvested in a random and homogeneous pattern with adequate spacing between harvest sites. Since only a small percentage of the donor hairs are removed, the effect is barely noticeable. The remaining hair surrounding the extracted hair grows to cover the spots, making the FUE harvesting virtually undetectable. After an FUE hair transplant, patients can typically wear their hair short, such as a number 1 or 2-grade cut. The tiny dot scars that remain are less than 1mm and hard to see with the naked eye.
The whole procedure is done under local anaesthesia with the aid of our Kinetic Anaesthesia Device. This cutting-edge device diminishes the discomfort associated with local anaesthetic injections.
Once extracted, the grafts are placed into a petri dish and passed to our highly trained technicians, who carefully inspect each follicle under high magnification microscopy.
Our stereomicroscopes produce a three-dimensional visualization of the grafts, allowing their methodic and meticulous evaluation.
The grafts are then classified based on their specific attributes, such as hair shaft thickness and the number of hair per graft.
The intraoperative use of the stereomicroscope is our standard practice for graft inspection and quality control. It is superior to naked-eye or slight magnification handling and guarantees better results.
A critical factor in successful hair transplantation procedures is appropriate biopreservation of the hair follicles. Once the hair transplant grafts are removed from the body, they are subjected to a series of stresses, like dehydration and hypoxia, that reduce their viability.
In our Glasgow clinic, we store the hair follicles in chilled HypoThermosol solution while waiting to be implanted.
HypoThermosol® is an optimized storage solution that has been shown to increase the viability of hair grafts following a period of ex vivo storage. It is becoming the industry standard and used by the world’s leading hair transplant surgeons to address a critical point during hair transplant surgery and improve the viability of grafts.
We understand that other clinics use less expensive graft storage solutions such as normal saline or Ringer’s lactate solution. However, we feel that the added investment in HypoThermosol is a worthwhile step in our efforts to achieve the highest possible rates of graft survival.
Direct Hair Implantation
Traditionally, with the forceps technique, the surgeon will use a blade to make incisions on the patient’s scalp, and the technicians place the grafts in those incisions using forceps. The forceps placement technique can result in poor outcomes as the grafts are susceptible to repetitive placement trauma and desiccation. Considerable skill is required to both hold the graft without crushing the bulb region and then to insert the graft bulb without traumatising the graft.
Dr Bonaros specialises in the advanced technology of the hair implanter pens, which overcomes the above limitations and eliminates the need for premade incisions on the scalp. Hair implanter pens allow for complete control over the direction, angle, depth and density of the hair follicles.
The hair transplant results are natural-looking, aesthetically pleasing and provide a high level of patient satisfaction.
The hair transplant technicians load the hair follicles on the implanters and pass them to Dr Bonaros, who performs the implantation. You can watch a short video of the direct implantation here.
The hair implanter pen is a graft placement device taking the form of a pen. The implanter has a plunger, and when depressed, a stylus will push the graft out of the device into the skin. The sharp implanter tip enables the surgeon to create the recipient site and implant the grafts in a single movement. Therefore, the hair bulb is never handled with forceps during the implantation. On the contrary, it is protected by the implanter’s wall during the graft’s insertion. The hair follicles are implanted fast and efficiently, without the risk of repetitive placement trauma.
Our clinic does not rely on the traditional, re-usable Choi implanter pens. We implant your grafts with novel, high-quality, single-use implanters that provide increased safety, efficiency and superior performance.
Dr Bonaros performs all steps of the surgery himself. He and his team will make you feel at home and explain the whole process as it happens. The FUE hair transplant in our clinic in Glasgow generally takes four to eight hours, depending on the number of follicles needed. The whole experience can be pretty relaxing. Many of our clients choose to listen to music or even take a nap during this time.
Upon leaving our clinic, we will provide you with everything you need to take care of your grafts during the first few weeks, including detailed, tailored post-operative instructions. Some patients return to light work the day following surgery, although most prefer to take a few days off.
Hair transplants usually cause only minor side effects that subside within a few weeks. You may experience a tight, swollen scalp for a few days. This procedure can also cause temporary scabs on the recipient area. Dr Bonaros will advise you on how to minimize these side effects to heal more quickly.
The timeline for recovery and results is one of the most common questions people have once their FUE hair transplant is complete. You can read our guide on the growth and recovery following an FUE hair transplant here.
You will have access to ongoing support and assistance in monitoring your hair growth progress and preventing potential problems.
It is always a pleasure to see our patients again and hear how the procedure has benefited them.
Dr Bonaros is a proud Member of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS).
ISHRS is a global medical association that holds the highest standards of medical practice, medical ethics, and research in the medical hair restoration field.
A hair transplant at our clinic in Glasgow will cost you less than £3 per graft. You can read more about the hair transplant costs here.
If you are considering a hair transplant and live in Glasgow, Edinburgh or anywhere in Scotland, book your consultation at our clinic today or fill out our online assessment form and take advantage of our hair restoration solutions.