Question:
I would like a hair transplant but I do not want a scar on my scalp. Can you do FUE for me?
Answer:
The role of FUE in hair restoration surgery
I do not know how many times per week we get telephone requests asking if we do FUE or it comes up in a consultation. In my practice, the question is answered in the negative. I do not feel that FUE done by myself or those who are the very best can compete with the kind of results I can get with strip harvesting especially regards to coverage and economy for those with hereditary pattern baldness. Most of the requests for FUE come from the marketing that goes on in the Internet which concerns young men who want to have the option of shaving their head and have become frightened by the aspect of having a hidden linear scar.
If one is to have scalp hair transplantation, especially a young man, one has to anticipate they are going to have 3000 to 5000 follicular units transplanted in their lifetime, as most men with early balding progress to Class 5, 6, and 7 by their 50s or 60s. I can speak from personal experience. It is my feeling, that someone who has had that many grafts harvested by FUE can go totally unnoticed with a shaved head . 3000-5000 tiny white scars has to add up to a moth-eaten appearance on a shaved head. Why even consider a hair transplant if you want a shaved head appearance?
I tell these young men to try a shaved head style before having any kind of work done . That way the can have all the benefits of a shaved head without the thousands of dollars spent on FUE or strip harvesting. I have the greatest respect for those who perform FUE for salvage cases, especially those cases that involve using body and beard hair. I have seen some wonderful results with this. Also FUE allows for additional harvesting of areas outside the optimal strip harvesting zones after prior work has been done.
Posted by Sheldon Kabaker M.D. FACS