I have seen where FUE is supposed to provide greater density than other techniques for hair transplantation. How true is this, and if it is, why?
Actually, that is not one of the advantages of follicular unit extraction or FUE. The reality is that with FUE procedures, even with the very best surgeons performing it, and this is a procedure I perform 3 to 5 times every week, we get on average 80-85% rate of the transplanted hairs to grow. Sometimes the rate of growth does approach that of follicular unit grafting, which is the state of the art and gold standard in hair transplantation. Essentially, the only advantage of follicular unit extraction technique is no single linear incision on the back of the head, thus patients who desire to shave their head or are fearful of having any type of visible scar choose the FUE technique. For over 80% of my strip donor site incision patients, the donor site heals up as a very fine line, typically 2 mm or less in width. If it is bothersome, follicular unit extraction can be used to obtain grafts and then place over the donor site scar.Posted by Jeffrey S. Epstein, MD, FACS