FUT (Follicular Unit Transplantation, Strip Technique)

Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) is a method of hair transplantation, the surgical technique in which hair follicles are moved from a donor site to a bald or thinning recipient site, primarily to treat male pattern baldness. Modern hair transplantation harvests and transplants hair in its natural follicular units of one to four hairs, and FUT is the name given to this follicular-unit approach; its donor hair is obtained by strip harvesting, one of the two main ways donor follicles are taken, the other being follicular unit extraction (FUE). Grafts of follicles that are genetically resistant to balding, such as those from the back of the head, are placed into the recipient area at an angle that mimics the natural orientation of the surrounding hair, so the result blends in and looks natural. Before surgery the surgeon analyses the scalp, may measure its laxity with a laxometer and its density with folliscopy, discusses the patient's expectations, and advises whether one or several sessions are needed; topical minoxidil and vitamins may be used beforehand. The procedure is carried out on an outpatient basis under injected local anaesthesia, with optional mild sedation, after the donor area is shampooed and treated with an antibacterial agent. Careful extraction that avoids transecting the follicle protects the viability of the transplanted hair, and post-operative antibiotics are commonly prescribed to help prevent infection. Some temporary shedding, known as shock loss, is common afterwards.

FUT is typically priced equivalent to or slightly below FUE at the same clinic — extraction is faster but suturing and graft dissection require additional time. Pricing models vary: per-graft or per-session. Most clinics include the strip excision, microscope-assisted graft dissection, all implantation, and post-operative medications in the quoted price.

Day 0: procedure completed in 5-8 hours under local anaesthesia. Donor area sutured or stapled; gauze pressure for the first 24 hours. Patient sleeps semi-upright.

Days 1-3: donor-area soreness and tightness — the dominant complaint after FUT. Mild swelling around forehead. Saline rinsing of recipient grafts from day 2-3. Avoid stretching/lifting movements that pull on the donor closure.

Day 4-7: most patients return to office work. Continue gentle washing. Donor area becomes less tender.

Day 10-14: sutures or staples removed. Donor scar still pink and slightly raised; will fade over 3-6 months.

Week 3-4: shock loss of transplanted hair begins — normal and expected.

Month 4-6: new growth begins.

Month 9-12: substantial visible density. Donor scar continues to fade. With trichophytic closure, hair grows through the scar making it less visible.

Month 18: final density and donor scar maturation. With short hair, the scar may be visible; with hair length covering the donor area it is typically not.

FUT travels well for medical tourism because it is a single in-clinic session with predictable recovery. International patients should plan for 5-7 days locally — slightly longer than FUE because the donor-area sutures or staples require removal at 10-14 days (the clinic can do this, or it can be arranged with a local clinician on return).

For patients who wear their hair short, FUE is usually preferred because the FUT linear scar can be visible. For patients with longer hair styles, FUT is often a better choice for large graft counts because total session time is shorter than the equivalent FUE.