Surgery of hair transplantation

FUT, or a strip-classic modern transplantology

The famous Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT), the classic of modern transplant surgery, is most often used when, in a single operation session, more grafts, in comparison with the FUE method, should be transplanted, including usually from one hair to four hairs. It consists of several stages.

First, surgeons use a scalpel to collect a donor skin flap from the occipital and temporal areas of the patient. It is here, in the androgen-independent scalp areas, hair follicles genetically insured against the inevitable degradation in the AHA, are least susceptible to the harmful effects of androgens - male sex hormones, which in the "horizontal", androgen-dependent zone disrupt normal hair growth, sooner or later leading to baldness.

Then, using stereoscopic microscopes (an increase of six to ten times), specifically designed scalpels from the skin strip are cut grafts (follicular connections) - groups of hair with a single sebaceous gland and a common blood supply consisting of two, three, four hairs and separate " unity ".

The cutting of grafts is conditionally divided into two parts. When a flap with donor material is taken from the occipital region of the head, cutaneous cuts with one or two rows of follicles begin. This is the first part. PHOTO 10.3 Very thin sections contribute to the rapid, qualitative isolation of grafts. Most often, a strip of length 22-26 cm, width 12-15 mm, produces up to 200 slices. If the donor zone is rich in hair, from it it is possible to select and transplant from 2000 to 3000 follicular units, and even more, and without appreciable cosmetic costs for occipital area.

Cutting the grafts themselves - the second part. Sections of the donor material are laid out on the stage with illumination, then the scalpel or the edge of the graft is cut. Since the slices are so thin that light is passed well, the hair follicles are perfectly visible in the microscope, these are the "ones", and also groups of two, three and four hairs. Adjusted movements of the scalpel or blades parallel to the follicles of the hair group are neatly separated, avoiding, of course, damage to the follicles. Surplus tissue around the grafts, if any, are immediately cut off. As a result, grafts take a cylindrical shape when they are single hair, or become like a drop or bulb if they include several hairs.

Simultaneously with the cutting process, the grafts are carefully counted. Until the moment of transplantation into the zone of alopecia they are placed in separate Petri dishes based on the amount of hair in each graft. The statistics of the operations performed at the Volosy.ru clinic indicate that grafts with one hair usually make up about 20% of the total number collected, with two - about 45-50%, with three or four hairs - 30-35%.

When cutting grafts much depends on the skillful and coordinated actions of medical personnel. No less important is the efficiency, because the less time the transplanted hair is outside the scalp, the higher the percentage of survival. Preservation of grafts until the time of planting in the clinic Volosy.ru is given maximum care and attention. Donor material is placed in a container with cooling with a special preservative solution that protects follicles from the effects of external environment lack of oxygen and nutrition, internal damage. All this painstaking work is carried out by qualified assistants of surgeons of the clinic Volosy.ru, prepared in accordance with the International standard of hair transplantation procedure.

When the fence of the donor skin flap is already made, the surgeon gently sews the edges of the wound in the occipital region of the patient. PHOTO 10.6 The professional level of transplantology at the clinic Volosy.ru provides not only the maximum possible selection of grafts, but also the high-quality cosmetic component of the FUT procedure - a very thin, almost unnoticeable scar that allows you to wear not only long hair, but short haircuts in the future. With an objective consideration of the properties of the scalp skin and a calibrated calculation of the width of the fence, due care should be taken in the process of closing the edges of the donor area to form a linear scar 1-2 mm in width.

If the volume of the operation is not too large, and the skin on the nape is elastic and sufficiently mobile, experienced surgeons often use a latent - trichophytic suture. Transplantologists of the clinic Volosy.ru have long and thoroughly mastered this technology, the essence of which is that the tip of the upper edge of the wound, the width of which is from 1 to 2 mm, is cut before it is closed. Then the surgeon pulls the edges of the wound, so that the hair subsequently sprouts directly through the scar, its linearity completely dissipates. Even when viewed from a very close distance, the "hidden" scar is absolutely invisible, the visual effect is perfect!

Closing the wound with a suture thread, the transplantologist uses a narrow pointed microsurgical scalpel to apply the smallest incisions in the area of ​​alopecia where donor hair will be transplanted, including recreating the lost front line of the patient's hair growth, if necessary. Further, several assistants can join the surgeon to participate in the process of planting grafts prepared for transplantation.

Operations strip-method are usually held for four to ten hours, the duration directly depends on the number of grafts collected. The undeniable advantage of the FUT method is, first of all, a one-stage significant amount of transplantation in the absence of noticeable scars in the area of ​​planting. On average, for one session, the resource of the donor zone makes it possible to transplant up to 2500-3500 grafts, and in some cases even more. Photo 10.9 The transplanted hair grows in accordance with the usual natural cycles, look attractive and absolutely natural. Density of transplantation - from 70 to 100 hair per square centimeter.

All the stages of the FUT procedure are absolutely painless, with the exception, perhaps, of injecting an injection with an anesthetic - the usual injections! There are no bleeding in the surgical intervention zone; can for a short time appear a small swelling, crusts are formed, which after a few days of themselves exfoliate. The timing of hair growth, transplanted with a strip, are the same as when using the FUE method - after 3-4 months. The final result is beautiful healthy hair, about a year after transplantation.