Basics of Hair Transplant Treatment

The Yates Hair Science Group in Vernon Hills, Illinois offers a variety of services, including female hair restoration, scar repair, and facial hair restoration. As part of its commitment to providing the best services to its clients, the staff at Yates Hair Science Group keeps up with current techniques in hair transplant treatment.

Patients curious about hair transplant therapy often have lots of questions about how the procedures work. Here’s a quick overview of the two most common methods, which are follicular unit strip surgery (FUT) and follicular unit extraction (FUE).

Both procedures are typically performed in the doctor’s office. The scalp is cleaned and the doctor uses local anesthetic on the back of the head to numb up the area.

In FUT treatment, the doctor will surgically remove a strip of skin from the back of the head, usually six to ten inches long. He then closes the scalp with sutures. FUE treatment is somewhat different, as the doctor shaves the back of the scalp and then removes hair follicles one after another.

Both procedures are essentially the same after that point. The doctor prepares the new grafts, sterilizes and numbs the part of the scalp where the new hair is to be transplanted, uses surgical implements to create holes for the new grafts and then places them.

Transplant sessions typically last between five and ten hours. Depending on the amount of hair loss that has occurred, the estimated rate of new hair loss, and donor hair amounts available, several procedures may be necessary to achieve desired results.