Follicular Unit Excision

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Follicular Unit Excision - FUE

Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) is a minimally invasive hair transplant procedure offered at Prime Hair Clinic in Calgary, Alberta. FUE involves harvesting individual hair follicles from the donor area and transplanting them into areas of thinning or hair loss. This technique is performed by licensed medical professionals and is commonly chosen for patients seeking natural results with minimal visible scarring and a shorter recovery period.

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What Is FUE Hair Transplant Surgery?

FUE is an advanced hair restoration technique that removes individual follicular units directly from the donor area using specialized medical instruments. These follicles are then carefully implanted into areas experiencing hair loss to restore natural density and hairline appearance.

Because FUE does not require a linear incision, it leaves small dot scars that are typically not noticeable once healed, making it a popular option for patients who prefer shorter hairstyles.

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Who Is a Good Candidate for FUE?

FUE may be an ideal option for individuals who:

  • Have mild to moderate hair loss

  • Prefer minimal visible scarring

  • Wear short hairstyles

  • Have good donor hair density

  • Want a less invasive procedure

FUE may not be ideal for patients requiring very high graft counts in a single session. A medical consultation is required to determine candidacy.

How Does FUE - Follicular Unit Excision Work?

A cross-sectional diagram of a hair follicle showing a hair shaft growing from the scalp with two surrounding hair follicles.
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Excision of Follicular Units

Punch Inscision

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Harvesting Grafts

Graft Implantation

How the FUE Procedure Works

  1. Medical consultation and hair analysis

  2. Donor area preparation

  3. Individual follicle extraction

  4. Recipient site creation

  5. Precise graft placement

The procedure is performed under local anesthesia to ensure patient comfort. Attention is paid to hair direction, angle, and design to achieve a natural, seamless result.

Recovery Timeline & Healing

  • Days 1–3: Mild redness or swelling

  • 7–10 days: Small extraction sites heal

  • 2–4 weeks: Transplanted hairs shed

  • 3–4 months: New growth begins

  • 9–12 months: Final results visible

Post-treatment care instructions are provided to support optimal results.

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Risks & Scarring

FUE is considered low risk when performed by trained medical professionals. Temporary redness, swelling, or sensitivity may occur. Dot scars are typically very small and difficult to detect once healed.

All risks are discussed during your consultation.

Comparison chart titled 'FUE vs FUT' detailing differences in method, scarring, healing time, ideal for, and graft survival rate for follicular unit extraction and follicular unit transplantation.

Real Patients. Real Results.

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  • Before and after images of a hair transplant at Prime Hair Hair Transplant Clinic showing a scalp with a hairline marked for grafts and a side view of a filled-in, styled haircut.
  • Before and after photos showing hair restoration with PRP treatment, with a focus on the top of a man's head, from crown to hairline.
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Your Questions Answered

  • No. Follicular Unit Excision involves cutting the skin leaving thousands of small circular scars. Claiming FUE to be scarless is dishonest, though unfortunately there are lots of inaccuracies in the industry promoted by marketing interests.

  • We are of the opinion that in the hands of a skilled surgeon, nothing compares to the quality of a handheld punch. We only use industry leading handheld motorized punches. Though promising, robotic transplant machines (ie. ARTAS) are still many years away from the calibre of a skilled surgeon. Suction aided FUE machines (ie. Neograft) don’t allow for real time inspection of grafts and may cause unnecessary trauma, therefore are not utilized at our clinic.

  • Follicular Unit Excision is not the preferred initial harvesting method for large transplant needs. Suitable surgeries would be 2500 grafts or less at a time. In situations when many thousands of grafts will be needed over the course of a lifetime, FUT should be strongly considered in combination with FUE.

  • The FUE procedure necessarily has to harvest from a larger area than FUT. Sometimes that involves going outside of the ‘safe donor area’. If the transplanted donor hair was taken from an area that is not immune to baldness, it’s possible for the hair to fall out at some stage following a transplant.

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