Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) Specialist Los Angeles

Follicular unit extraction procedure stages. FUE hair loss treatment steps. Alopecia infographic medical design template for transplantation clinics and diagnostic centers. Vector illustration.

Follicular Unit Extraction, otherwise known as follicular unit excision (FUE), is something we do well at our Los Angeles hair transplant office. It is the process of hair transplantation where hair follicles are individually harvested using a tool that performs somewhat like a very tiny drill. We localize an individual follicle in the donor zone and use a tip that typically measures between 0.8-0.9mm in diameter to “score” the follicle at a depth of about 3mm so that it separates from the surrounding connective tissue. It is then, gently removed with fine forceps. We harvest the follicle exactly as it occurs in nature and then we move it as is to a spot that is no longer generating hair, to create the most natural looking and feeling hair transplant results.

The way we do FUE hair transplant harvesting is a work of art that we regularly create at our Los Angeles hair transplant office. When we move individual follicles from the donor zone of a hair transplant, those follicles no longer grow in the donor region. They will grow in the receipt region where we want to increase the density of hair. This means we are thinning out the donor zone. In order to make this donor zone thinning undetectable, it is imperative that the hair harvested is spread throughout the entire safe donor zone and not concentrated in any one area. We do this so as not to create a noticeable lower density in one area of the donor zone over another. It is also imperative that the surgeon performing the extractions has a thorough understanding as to the architecture of the scalp and how many donor follicles can be removed without significantly changing the appearance or even worse, creating bald areas in the donor zone.

The FUE hair transplant procedure is not a “scarless” procedure, despite some advertisements that may try to convey that message. When the follicles are removed from the donor region, in a hair transplant, they leave a small dot on the skin where the donor follicle once stood This is referred to a micro scar. These dots are typically not seen as long as the hair is kept at a length of 1 – 1.5 mm or longer. If the donor zone is shaved down to the skin, there is a risk of the dots being seen depending on how many follicles are harvested in the hair transplant, the density of the patient’s donor hair, skin color, and other characteristics in the patient’s scalp.

Contact Marc Dauer, M.D. to find out how or hair transplant office in Los Angeles can help you to regain the hair that you have lost.

The FUE hair transplant procedure is definitely a significant advance in hair transplants because it allows us to perform the procedure without cutting out a piece of scalp from the donor zone. This makes the FUE hair transplant much less invasive, less painful, with less complications and quicker recovery, than other surgical methods of hair transplantation. In addition, because FUE hair transplants have become so popular, technology has advanced the tools used for the procedure and made the possible results as good or better than the FUT procedure when performed in the past.

Be wary though, because the FUE hair transplant procedure is less invasive than the older “strip method” of harvesting, it has spawned a huge industry of black market FUE hair transplant clinic. These places have unlicensed “medical” personnel, many without proper training or experience, operating out of low cost clinics throughout the world. Their advertised low costs lure prospective hair transplant patients into their clinics and unfortunately, many of these patients are permanently maimed by these procedures and/or they end up producing unnatural results, or no results at all. What’s worse, once the donor zone is adversely affected, there is no turning back. This is because the donor zone has a finite number of hairs that can be donated and there is no way to re create these hairs. Once the maximum number of donor hairs has been harvested in the hair transplant, the patient has no other places to transplant it from (other than beard or body hair) as you cannot receive donor hair from another individual. Donor hair must come from the recipients own scalp.

This is why it is imperative that you choose a hair transplant surgeon with extensive experience performing FUE hair transplants and ideally a hair transplant surgeon that performs the extraction themselves.

In Dr. Dauer’s hair transplant practice he personally performs all the FUE extractions himself. Dr. Dauer also has 15 years of experience performing FUE hair transplants and routinely teaches other hair transplant physicians around the world his FUE hair transplant techniques.

Contact Dauer Hair Restoration to find out how our Los Angeles hair transplant office can help to give you back your natural looking and feeling hair.