How many times can FUE be performed?

Question

26 with thinning cowlick on the vertex. Have the "V" in front. Norwood 2 at this point, but I've also noticed that the point of my widow's peak has shrunken significantly over past several months. I recognize the risks of getting this done prematurely - I don't yet know how bad my ultimate loss will be, some of the yet-harvestable hairs on the back/sides might be destined for MPB, etc. What are your thoughts on whether getting multiple FUEs (say in the order of 6-7) is feasible or advisable?

Jae Pak, MD · Answer

You can have many FUE procedures over your life time as long as you keep your total donor hair supply in mind.If your donor hair supply is 6000 graftsYou can have six 1000 graft surgeries or three 2000 graft surgeries.

Sara Salas, MD · Answer

It all depends on the density you have and the hair loss. You need to consult with a hair restoration professional in order to plan your hair restoration journey.

Matt Tahsini, MD · Answer

Hello, thank you for sharing this information. The number of grafts and how many sessions are all dependent on the donor region of the scalp. Sometimes, as fillers, if the patient has enough body hair, depending on the quality, that can also be a back-up option. Hope this helps.

Steven Gabel, MD, FACS · Answer

The number of FUE procedures is dependent upon the amount of donor area you have.  Every time a hair transplant is performed, the density of hair in the donor area is decreased.  One has to be very careful not to diminish the amount of hair in the donor area as it eventually becomes noticeable depending upon one's hair style and hair length.At age of 26, I advise all my patients to be mindful that hair loss is progressive, and "chasing" the hair loss with hair transplants (FUE or strip) is not the best advice.  You should first consider medications to stabilize your hair loss, and monitor the pattern.  If you hair loss is stable, then consider a hair transplant.  It is important to be evaluated by a physician with years of hair restoration experience because the frontal hairline is very noticeable, and if not done correctly, can cause permanent damage.

Jeff Donovan, MD, PhD · Answer

The number of FUE's you can have depends on your donor area. Most men have 4000-5000 follicular units to use for hair transplant in their lifetime. Some have as high as 8000-9000. Some have zero but that is quite rare (these men have thinning in their donor area).It's common to have 1-3 FUE's. Its not typically to have 5 and 6 but yes it is possible provided the area is harvested properly. Sometimes poor harvesting by the surgeon makes it very challenging to go back and keep getting more hairs.

Christopher S. Zarella, MD · Answer

Great questions.  The beauty of individual follicular harvest and transfer is that it allows for touch ups down the road.  There's no set or maximum number of times that it can be performed.  The donor sites are the areas of hair growth that are usually not subject to male pattern baldness (the low back and sides).  If you have anterior hair line restoration (the hair line at your forehead), the hairs transferred there will continue to behave like the areas from which they came, and so, they should last.  Should you continue to thin, you may then desire subsequent corrections behind this new (and more permanent) forehead hairline.  The limit to the number of touch ups you can have depends on how much donor hair you have on the sides and back, and whether or not they can be re-harvested.  Ultimately, a consultation with a plastic surgeon or hair restoration expert who specializes in follicular unit transfer would be best to understand specifics of the procedure, as they pertain to you.  Best of luck!

Michael Meshkin, MD - Account Suspended · Answer

The number of sessions depends on the size of your donor area and the number grafts extracted for each session. If your donor area has for example 5000 grafts available, then you Can either use up all the grafts in one session or divide it up into smaller sessions. But if you use up all the 5000 grafts in one session and go back for a second session, you will get what is called donor depletion.

William Rassman, MD (retired) · Answer

You actually said it very well, you don't know how much balding you will get so doing any surgery would be a terrible mistake at this stage. Consider drugs like finasteride to slow down the process and maybe you can avoid the surgery.

How many times can FUE be performed?

Answers (8)

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