Posts Tagged: Injury

What is Follicular Unit Extraction and What Other Terms are Associated with the Procedure?

November 6th, 2006

Q: I am considering having an FUE procedure and have heard the phrases topping, capping, and tethering as part of the procedure. What do all these terms mean?

A: These are all terms that refer to the types of injury that can occur to grafts during a follicular unit extraction procedure.

In FUE, a sharp instrument (or sharp instrument followed by a blunt one) is used to separate follicular units from the surrounding donor tissue. Forceps are then used to remove the follicular units from the scalp.

Topping occurs in the first step when the doctor accidentally cuts off the top of the graft so that the remainder of the graft cannot be removed.

Capping occurs when the doctor grabs a graft with forceps and the top of the graft (the epidermis and upper dermis) pulls off, leaving the rest of the graft behind.

Tethering occurs when the bottom of the graft is still attached to the deeper tissues after the first step causing the follicular unit to pull apart during extraction.

There are a few other terms used as well.

Shredding occurs when the follicular unit is not totally separated from the surrounding tissue and pulls apart upon extraction. Shredding can also occur when the follicular unit was partially damaged in the first step.

Transection is like topping, but here the mid or lower portion of the hairs in the unit are cut.

Buried grafts occur when the graft is pushed into the sub-cutaneous space rather than extracted. Buried grafts can usually be removed, but if not removed completely, may turn form small cysts.

Go to the Follicular Unit Extraction page on the Bernstein Medical – Center for Hair Restoration website.

Topic: Follicular Unit Extraction

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Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. at 9:23 am

After Hair Transplant, What Happens if Transplanted Area is Injured?

October 23rd, 2006

Q: I am a patient of yours who had a hair transplantation procedure done mostly in the crown area and in the front about seven months ago. The hair is just starting to come in nicely and is starting to fill in the bald spots. Yesterday I carelessly banged the top of my head against a beam in my attic and cut a nice gash in, you guessed it, a transplanted area. I’d say that the cut is about a good inch. My wife works for a doctor who is certified in facial plastic surgery and I had him suture up the gash. He did not cut any hair, but it took 4 stitches to close the wound. I’m worried about the impact on the transplanted area. Just when it was starting to come in nice I now have a bald spot that I suspect is going to stay as a result of the accident. Please advise.

A: There is not much you can do at this time. Depending upon the doctor’s suturing techniques; you may or may not have permanent hair loss from the trauma and subsequent suturing.

The problem is that if the sutures are placed too far from the wound edge they can strangulate hair follicles, particularly if there is any swelling. Hair loss may be temporary, but if it is permanent, it should be minimal.

Additional grafts can be added at your next hair restoration procedure to cover any area of hair loss and the scar from the injury, if it is visible.

Topic: Post-op Care

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Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. at 12:58 pm

Can One Have Hair Transplant if Scalp is Tight from Prior Surgery?

July 5th, 2006

Q: What can be done if I want to have a hair transplant and my scalp is very tight from prior surgeries?

A: Follicular Unit Extraction is ideal in very tight scalps, provided that there is enough hair to extract without leaving the donor area too thin and provided that the follicles are not too distorted from the scarring.

With strip harvesting, undermining techniques may be helpful to close the wound edges once the strip is removed.

In undermining, the surgeon uses either a sharp instrument (scalpel) or blunt instrument (the dull edge of scissors) to separate the upper layers of the scalp (dermis and epidermis) from the lower part of the scalp (fascia). The hair transplant surgeon accomplishes this by spreading apart the fat layer of the skin or by cutting through scar tissue.

Undermining allows the upper layers of skin to literally slide over the lower layers and can significantly increase the ability to close a tight wound. However, if not done carefully, it may increase the risk of bleeding and injury to nerves and occasionally may damage hair follicles.

Undermining is usually used with a layered closure where the deeper tissues are brought together first with a layer of absorbable sutures before the surface of the skin is sutured closed with sutures that are removed.

Topic: Hair Transplant

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Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. at 6:33 am

Can Hair Transplant Grow Hair Over Scar From Injury?

September 15th, 2005

Q: I have a scar on the top of my head the size of a quarter from an old injury. I would like hair to grow back on the bald spot. Can a hair transplant re-grow hair on the spot and not have any scar on my head at all?

A: Traumatic scars are readily treated with follicular unit hair transplantation. The hair generally grows quite well in scar tissue as long as the scar is not thickened (hypertrophic). Several sessions are usually required. Although the hair restoration can make the bald area undetectable, the underlying scar tissue will still be there.

Topic: Hair Transplant into Scar

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Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. at 2:38 pm





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