Effect of Follicular Unit Extraction on the Donor Area

BACKGROUND: Hair restoration surgery is one of the most commonly performed cosmetic surgery procedure in men. The main aim of the study was to know the effect of follicular unit extraction (FUE) follicular unit extraction (FUE) on donor area in terms of hair mass/density. METHODS: Ten male patients undergoing hair restoration by FUE were included. In each patient, ten boxes of 1 cm(2) each were marked. The first box was marked in the midline and the 2(nd) and 3(rd) boxes were marked about 3 cm from the midline. Another two boxes, each of 1 cm(2) were also marked at the distance of 3 cm. Two boxes of 1 cm(2) were marked on either side. The extraction was performed using 0.9 mm punch. The number of extracted hair were counted. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 31.7 years. The average hair count in the donor area was 154.76 hair per cm(2). The extracted hair count was 54.85 hair per cm(2) which was about 35.44% of the total donor density (range: 28.9-42.8%). The graft to hair ratio in the extracted follicular units was 1:2.3 (range: 1:1.65-1:2.75). CONCLUSION: As the donor density varies, the FUE should be performed with caution.