Hi everyone, Dr. Paul from Hair Transplants Melbourne. I just wanted to explain what happens to the donor site during a procedure called Follicular Unit Transfer (FUT).
FUT is a method where we do not shave any part of the scalp. Instead, we make a linear incision around the back of the scalp. Depending on how many grafts are needed, the incision may be short or a bit longer, extending from one side to the other around the back. We then remove a strip of skin from the scalp. It may sound intense, but it’s actually not as bad as it seems. Our patients tolerate it very well, and many of them actually prefer this procedure over FUE.
Once the strip of skin is removed, we sew the scalp back up. This leaves a linear incision that heals over time. If FUT is done poorly, it can leave a thick, ugly, and obvious scar. However, at Hair Transplants Melbourne, we take great pride in creating FUT scars that are thin and nearly imperceptible, even to the hairdresser of our clients.
The recovery time for FUT is often shorter than FUE because we don’t shave any part of the scalp, nor do we change the appearance much by making an incision and stitching the scalp back up. All of the surrounding hair remains intact, so when you walk out of the clinic, no one will know you’ve had anything done at the back of your head.
Once the strip of skin is taken out, it is handed over to our technicians and nurses, who then begin dissecting the individual grafts from that strip. These grafts are then implanted back into the areas where we want them, just like we would in an FUE procedure. The implantation process is the same for both FUT and FUE; it’s only the extraction method that differs.
One important point I want to clarify: a lot of people mistakenly think that when we remove a strip of skin with FUT, we plant the entire strip on top of the head. That is not how FUT works. In FUT, we take the strip out, dissect the individual grafts, and then place them into the areas where we want them to go on the scalp.
