FUE vs Strip, pro and cons
This page only talks about the DONOR area of the head (where grafts are removed) and not the recipient zone (where the grafts are re-implanted).
| Pro FUE | Contra FUE |
| Faster overall healing of the donor area. | Donor area needs to be buzzed to 1 mm for larger sessions (500 grafts or more).. Very noticeable to others if you usually wear long hair. For smaller session a small strip of hair is shaven which can be covered by the remaining hair to become undetectable. |
| No visible signs of surgical work, even with a buzz cut. | Less grafts per session. At the moment up to 1500 grafts/day can be achieved on certain patients. |
| No numb area due to nerve damage | One needs to lay still for several hours during the extraction. Usually Dr. take a break every hour or so. |
| Session planning can be very flexible. You can have several sessions in consecutive days. | If too many grafts are extracted the donor area might look "moth eaten". |
| Probably more donor hair available because of a larger donor area. This has not yet been proven. | |
| No need to have sutures or staples removed | |
| Sleeping at night is much more comfortable since no stitches or staples are used. | |
| No risk of wide or widening scars. | |
| No risk of permanent donor pain | |
| FUE allows for the use of body hair (chest, abdominal...) as an extra source. No other technique offers this possibility. | |
| FUE is the preferred technique for repair work since it is less invasive. |
I am still working on this page, any comments are welcome by former strip and FUE patients.