FUE is a minimally invasive hair transplant technique, with very short recovery time and excellent results. Each case is individually examined, always in medical consultation, the proposed (medical and/or surgical) treatment will correspond to the degree of baldness.
The patient will be welcomed by our team, then the doctor responsible for the procedure will speak with the patient and will explain the process that will take place during the day, solving the last details or last minute doubts that may arise.
It is necessary to have a good breakfast that morning, coffee is forbidden (although you may have a decaffeinated coffee) as well as fatty foods.
Photographs of the head will be taken in predetermined positions for the process of surgical documentation of the patient and in order to analyse the postoperative result.
Each patient will have a collection of photos with all stages of their treatment.
These photos are made by the medical staff, with a professional quality camera.
The design will be established in mutual agreement with the patient and within the parameters of normal usage.
The doctor points out the donor and receiving areas, i.e. the preliminary drawing, with special markers, limiting the donor area on the one hand and the areas that will receive the hair on the other hand.
The receiving area is defined keeping the hair still in its usual length.
The donor area may be partially or completely shaved.
Once the donor area has been delimited (posterior and/or lateral part of the scalp), local anaesthesia will be applied. The placement of any peripheral route is not necessary and the entire intervention is performed entirely with local anaesthesia, which produces the immediate desensitisation of the working area: the skin. That is why in 2 seconds there is total insensibility, with no need to wait, so the inconvenience is minimal.
The donor area is the region that will donate the hair that is transplanted to the receiving area or bald area.
The extraction area we use is an area that does not have the genetic code of baldness, so the transplanted hairs will not tend to be lost. The doctor determines the best areas to remove the hair in a non-traumatic, individual and clean way.
The follicles are placed according to the number of hairs they contain in containers prepared at low temperature. A counter to the left of the patient is counting the follicular units so that the patient is at all times aware of the development of their surgery.
The extraction is made using millimetric surgical instruments called “punches”.
They have sharp edges and a cylindrical range with a diameter from 0.75 to 0.90mm. One or another is used according to the diameter of the hair of each patient.
After being cut off with a “punch”, the follicular units are extracted from the scalp with extremely delicate special forceps.
The follicular units extracted in a one-day session are about 1200 to 1500 follicular units according to the density of each patient’s hair, which corresponds to around 2500 to 3500 hairs. This can vary from patient to patient, depending on the density of the donor area.
At the end of the extraction, as the number of follicular units is known, multiplied by the number of hairs in each graft we will be able to work out the exact number of hairs transplanted.
After extraction, the follicular units are placed in a suitable storage solution to maintain the vitality of the follicles.
A team member begins the preparation of follicular units with a magnifying glass (stereoscope) and LED lights (to maintain an adequate temperature). The preparation and maintenance of the appropriate follicular units are the key to the success of hair transplantation.
The proper conservation of the follicular units is a key for the survival of the follicles during the period when they are outside the body.
The follicular units must remain hydrated and at an ideal temperature, in containers prepared at low temperature throughout the procedure, until the moment of implantation.
In this phase of the procedure, the follicular units removed will be implanted, applying local anaesthesia in the receiving area. The doctor who implants the follicular units defines the depth, angulation (inclination) and direction of growth of the hairs when implanting each follicular unit. (see Implanters)
The hair transplant process takes an average of 5-7 hours. The time is divided in extraction, lunch and implantation.
Once the extraction process is finished, the patient will have a 30-minute break to have a light meal.