The FUT or STRIP technique, The FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) technique

The FUT or STRIP technique

The FUT (Follicular Unit Transplantation) technique consists in the removal of a strip of scalp (STRIP) from the donor area which is then sutured, without having to shave the entire area. The result of the STRIP removal is usually a very thin scar less than 1 mm wide, which can be masked even under very short hair.

This scar can be reused for further sampling of subsequent operations while remaining usually equally thin.

Once the STRIP is obtained, thanks to the direct visual control of magnification systems such as microscopes or binoculars, the follicular units are extracted with precision and meticulousness. In this way, trauma is reduced to a minimum as well as the times between explantation and reimplantation, thus increasing the chances of engraftment which with this technique can have very high rates of engraftment of transplanted hair, not comparable to those of FUE.

Advantages and disadvantages of the FUE technique

The FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) technique is a hair transplantation technique with direct removal of the follicular units, already used more than 25 years ago by some German, Italian and French surgeons as an evolution of the punch technique (that with doll tufts) and soon abandoned in favor of the STRIP technique (FUT) which gave much higher hair regrowth percentages.

FUE consists in the removal of the follicular units in the donor area with much smaller circular scalpels but similar to those used for the doll tufted technique; this collection can be done by hand or with the aid of a motorized rotating system. However, since it is a blind withdrawal in the thickness of the scalp, the follicular unit in the sample may not always be "centered" or, as often happens, it can be damaged (transection) or the follicular units adjacent to those of the sample can be damaged. For this reason, the hair regrowth rates are significantly lower than the FUT.

It is also not true that there is no scar because there are many, very small, each corresponding to each individual sample. All these small scars disrupt the anatomy of the donor area so that a second possible collection for a subsequent autotransplant will be more difficult with even lower regrowth percentages and the possibility of formation in the donor area of ​​very evident thinning patches visible with long hair caused by the many small confluent scars. The technique also requires the complete shaving of the donor area, something often not pleasing to patients.