FUT vs. FUE

• URFUT
• Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)
• Scarring
• A natural look?
• Subtlety

URFUT

Hair Restoration Blackrock are experts in Ultra Refined Follicular Unit Transplantation (URFUT) which has many advantages, one of which is producing a high yield of grafts for transplantation.

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Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)

FUE is an alternative method of obtaining donor hair for transplantation. Follicular units are taken individually from the donor area on the scalp without the need for a linear incision. Instead, a blunt-tipped punch tool is used to extract the  individual follicles from the scalp. This differs from FUT where a donor strip of skin is taken and the follicular units are microscopically dissected from that strip.

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Scarring

As skin cannot be broken without leaving a scar, however small, FUE can result in stippling and scarring on the scalp.

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A natural look?

It is more difficult to obtain a natural distribution of follicular units with FUE as, for ease, the larger ones are targeted.  These larger follicles do not look as natural on the hairline.

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Subtlety

As the donor area is often larger with FUE, it is much more obvious that you have had a procedure than with URFUT. While FUE may appear, at first glance, less invasive than URFUT, it does have significant disadvantages.  They include the following:

• The follicular unit graft yield is lower than with URFUT which means you get less donor hair for transplantation.  This is because it is not possible to harvest as much hair.
• It is much more likely that follicular units are damaged during this procedure as the instrument used is not as precise as a microscope and can damage the follicle. It is also harder to capture the entire follicular unit.
• It is harder to tell who is a good candidate for FUE than it is for URFUT.
• If large amounts of grafts are harvested with FUE, fine stippled scars may became visible as hair thins in the donor area.
• FUE harvesting is more limited and several sessions are necessary to equal the size of a single URFUT.
• FUE takes longer and is more expensive.
• FUE can result in grafts being pushed into the fat on the scalp which may result in cysts.

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