Is 5000 grafts FUE really a good idea? (Photo)

Question

I have been doing some research. Doctors in the US are recommending 2500-3000 grafts, whereas a doctor I spoke to in India says he can do 5000 grafts by looking at my pictures. Is 5000 too much? Why such a big difference in the number of grafts?

Jae Pak, MD · Answer

FUE is just a harvesting method.  It does not relate to results.  If you want to keep your hair very short you may want the FUE.  If you search this website you may notice people complaining about patchy donor area and depletion after 3000 to 5000 graft surgery.

Athanasios Christopoulos, MD · Answer

The number of grafts is not the only factor that will determine your final result. Most of the patients take their decisions by only considering the factor of the number. Probably because this is an easy way to compare between the one doctor to the other. In reality the good result has to do with many factors as the quality of the grafts, how gentle will be treated during the procedure and most of all the technique that the doctor is going to apply in order to offer a natural result. Be sure that you will not be happy to have thousands of hair to your hair but no natural result. Obviously nobody can tell only by your photo if your donor area is going to offer 5,000 grafts. Be careful if they are talking about 5,000 grafts or 5,000 hair follicles because is a completely different thing. In your case I think that in order to have the best result you must trust a doctor who will inspire you and will offer a natural result, by handling gently your grafts using a technique that is not going to destroy the hair follicles and will be honest to you. In that case I would advise to put 2,500 grafts in one session and 1 year later to repeat by doing the same session if your donor area allows that. 
  Please do not compare just numbers.

Hussain Rahal, MD · Answer

Hello,
Do extensive research on the results and procedures of various doctors. Most transplant clinics also offer free consultations that you should also take advantage of. The ability to do 5000 grafts will depend on the donor density and donor area and mostly on the skill of the doctor and the team. Make sure the physician you are speaking with has done many surgeries of 5000 with good growth. Looking at your donor pics, it will be hard to do 5000 grafts in one sitting without getting into unsafe areas. Plus, if you are doing such a large number, the length of time the grafts are out of the body will impact the outcome. In terms of the number of grafts, there are many people who also do a second surgery to achieve their acquired density result, but again this would depend on the characteristics of your donor area.

William Woessner, MD · Answer

Someone - or ones - is either very mistaken or placing "fast and loose". My advice is to stick with ISHRS doctors and do your homework diligently - before you commit to trusting someone with your money and your appearance.

William Yates, MD · Answer

It is possible to work 5000 grafts. Just find our if the are going to split the grafts to achieve that number and consider that splitting grafts will affect the density. 2500-3000 grafts is a pretty decent number for a transplant and will have great results if done correctly. The only problem with a hair transplant done abroad is: what happens if you have any complications? Who are you going to follow up with? Are they reputable doctors performing the surgery? I always recommend to check all these facts before venturing.

Muhammad Jawad, MD · Answer

anything mite than 3000 grafts in fue will cause donor area depletion....safe limit is between 3000 to 3500 in those who have a very good density otherwise it's between 2500 to 3000 grafts...

William Rassman, MD (retired) · Answer

The number of grafts depends upon the size of the recipient area you want to treat, the thickness of your hair shafts and the donor density of available hair. For FUE, there is an absolute limit to the number of grafts that you can harvest with FUE before you develop balding in the donor area and a see-through donor area that you can’t hide.  I can tell you that few men can support more than 3500 FUE grafts before becoming bald in the donor area so much so that anyone will notice it. IF you are Asia, or African, or middle-eastern, then most likely you can’t even support 3500 FUE grafts. A good doctor knows how to assess this with proper donor density measurements of your original donor density and then there are known calculations that follow this information once it is in hand. Combining FUE and FUT is not an unreasonable way to handle the numbers you might need in a single session, so see a GOOD doctor. Read web reference below

Is 5000 grafts FUE really a good idea? (Photo)

Answers (7)