FUT Hair Transplantation

Follicular Unit Transplant (FUT) for Hair Loss

A modern hair transplant procedure is a minor surgery, which is easily accomplished in an office setting using local anesthetics and mild sedation. The patient is awake for the entire procedure and can easily take breaks in order to eat and use the restroom. In fact we encourage our patients to watch movies, which we supply on our flat-panel TV’s in each operating suite to help them relax and enjoy the day.


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If a FUT hair transplant is appropriate for you, your day begins with a complete review of your medical history. This will occur in our Foster City hair loss clinic office, which is convenient to San Francisco, Oakland, the Silicon Valley peninsula, and San Jose patients. The surgeon then reviews the treatment plan, ensuring that your aesthetic concerns and expectations are established and met. The surgeon then explains the entire procedure to you, paying the greatest attention to the benefits and risks of surgery. These operations are very safe and it is our job to make sure that you completely understand details of your personalized treatment and have an opportunity to ask questions.Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT Transplant) in San Francisco, Palo Alto, and Menlo Park, CA

In the FUT hair transplant procedure, a patient’s hair is transplanted in naturally occurring groups of one to four hairs, called “follicular units”.  These small units allow the transplantation of thousands of grafts in a single session, which improves the aesthetic outcome.

We always meet with each patient, in advance, and determine the best hair transplant procedure for him or her. In some cases, we recommend ARTAS Robotic Hair Transplantation (robotic hair transplantation), FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction), and in others medical management via medication — it depends on each individual patient’s needs and clinical situation. People come to us seeking FUT hair transplant for Bay Area patients and often find a different procedure better serves your needs. Whether you live in San Francisco, Foster City, Palo Alto or elsewhere on the Peninsula, reach out to Dr. Canales for a free consultation. He will determine the best hair transplant procedure for you, whether that is the FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) or the FUT (Follicular Unit Transplantation) hair transplant procedure.

How does a FUT Transplant Work?

The FUT procedure begins with the preparation of the Donor Area. The hair directly above the donor site is lifted up and taped in place. A thin strip of hair is then shaved to expose the skin, which will soon become the donor strip. We will calculate the length and width of the donor strip, which is necessary to achieve your goals and only shave that much. Local anesthetic will be used to completely numb this area and the donor strip will be excised. The wound is then closed with stitches. Since the entire shaved area has been removed and the taped hair above is released to cover the stitches, there is usually no way to see that you have had surgery in the back of the head.

The strip of donor hair is passed to our highly trained surgical assistants, who work under a microscope to divide the strip into follicular unit grafts.  While the surgical assistants are creating the grafts, the surgeon will give local anesthetic to the front of the head. This will result in your entire scalp feeling numb. The doctor will then create tiny slits, called recipient sites, which conform to a natural pattern of hair and follow the angle, and direction of your existing hair.

Following completion of the recipient sites, the individual hair grafts will be placed one-by-one into those sites by hand using jeweler’s forceps.

If you are looking for a FUT hair transplant specialist in the Bay Area, reach out to us, today, for a free consultation. With a convenient Foster City, California, location, you can reach us easily from Oakland, San Francisco, Palo Alto and other Bay Area cities for your hair transplant needs.

 

Questions and Answers on FUT (Follicular Unit Transplant) for Hair Loss

Q. What is the difference between FUT vs. FUE?

A. Follicular Unit Transplantation is a typical step in the hair transplantation process. It is when the surgeon reinserts hair follicles into the scalp. In the past, the strip method of hair transplants could be tedious and uncomfortable. The surgery has come a long way since then. Innovative technology using the ARTAS robot can make both the FUE and FUT surgery comfortable and precise resulting in a more natural-looking result.

Q. How does FUT work?

A. After the strand extraction process, the patient is scheduled for follicular unit transplantation surgery. The patient sits in a comfortable, supportive chair, and the clinic staff provides a local anesthetic for pain management. Dr. Miguel Canales reviews a detailed map and works with the robot to insert each hair strand into the scalp. This process helps avoid the signs of a follicular unit transplant.

Q. What are the side effects of FUT?

A. Once the follicular unit transplant process is completed, the new hair will take some time to grow and fill out. Side effects can include minor scalp swelling where the follicles have been implanted. There could be numbness as well. Expect there to be a “waiting period” as the hair becomes thicker and grows into a healthy-looking head of hair. It’s usually around three to six months until a patient experiences the full effect of FUT surgery.

Q. How long does a follicular unit transplant last?

A. With proper care and maintenance, your FUT surgery can provide results that last a lifetime. Remember, robotic hair transplantation uses your hair to revitalize thinning hair. During FUE, the robot carefully chooses the best strands to reinsert during the FUT process.