FUT (Follicular Unit Transplantation, Strip Technique)

FUT was the standard of care for hair transplantation from the late 1990s until the widespread adoption of FUE in the 2010s. The technique offers high graft yield per session (typically 2,500-4,500 grafts), excellent preservation of follicular unit integrity (because dissection is performed under stereomicroscopy by trained technicians), and a single linear donor scar — which can be made nearly invisible with trichophytic closure techniques in experienced hands.

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.