FUT Surgery in Chicago, IL

FUT (Follicular Unit Transplantation) or Hair Strips are procedures where literally a strip of your hair is removed from the back of your head and used to be placed on the top of the head.

Advantages of FUT:

• Remove entire hair grafts, so less risk for transection
• Avoids leaving a porous donor site
• Allows for FUE to be done in the future

Disadvantages of FUT:

• Leaves a linear scar on the back of the head, a tell-tale sign of a hair transplant
• Can have a longer recovery
• Can have persistent numbness

Who Is A Candidate For FUT?
Any person with hair loss of non-autoimmune origin who will not wear their hair shorter than a 2 guard.
Most women are candidates as shaved heads and very short hair along the back of the head is not common
Male patients with very curly hair may be a candidate. One issue is that many patients with curly hair often wear shorter hair styles so FUE harvesting is potentially more forgiving

Who Is Closing My Scar?
Dr. Shah is a board certified facial plastic surgeon who makes and closes scars on patients faces thousands of times. His job is to conceal scars on visible locations. On the back of the scalp he takes the same care to minimize scar appearance.



Multi-Layered Closure
Removing tension at the back of the head is one of the critical elements to avoiding a potentially wide scar.

Minimal Transection Approach
by beveling his incision to mimic the direction of hair, dr shah tries to minimize hair graft transection.

Favorable Bevels
He uses bevels to help the scar appear less visible.

Hair Growth Approach
Dr. Shah also wants the hair to grow through the scar so he uses the same bevel he uses on forehead reduction scars allowing the scar to be harder to see.

Is There Really A Zero Transection Rate In Strip Surgery?
Patients will have some hairs transected upon removal of the strip. all of the hairs along the border of the strip removal are potentially not usable. Estimates of transection rate are about 10-20% depending on the size of the strip.

Can African American Patients Have Strip Surgery?
African american hair is difficult to transplant and requires an individualized approach. Some patients will want to wear shorter hair or cropped hair or shaved. A scar would be potentially noticeable and hair style limiting for these patients.
FUE Robotics with a larger needle and adjustment of angle depth and penetration is currently our favored approach to treating african american hair. Many patients will also seek scalp micropigmentation as an additional service.

How noticeable will my scar be?
Scars are difficult to predict, even in the best of hands. However, Dr. Shah uses a specialized approach, design, and thought process to help allow for more predictable results. In general, most patients will have difficulty seeing their scars if they use a 2 guard or greater along the hair.

When Are My Sutures Removed?
Dr. Shah prefers for the stronger sutures to be removed between day 6-8. The finer sutures often dissolve on day 5.

Can I Have It So You Can't See My Scar Early On?
The stealth technique is great for strip surgery allowing for your hair to cover your scar early on making 1-3 day recoveries possible.