• Design of skin strip that will be taken as an implant, and usually has a thickness of 1.2 cm to avoid the difficulty in closing the wound and, as far as possible the creation of post-surgical scar. Note that the graft is usually taken from the occipital area of the head and extends from one ear flap to the other.
• Local anesthesia is performed along the implant strip.
• The incision is cut to the subcutaneous fat and the graft strip is detached with a scalpel from the subcutaneous fat. At this point careful hemostasis must be performed, because this site has many vessels and there is a risk of post-operative hematoma.
• The wound is stapled by layers with subcutaneous, absorbable sutures. In recent years, the wound is sewn in such a way that it grows hair through the scar so it is less noticeable.
• The graft strip is processed, which is gradually cut to produce appropriate smaller diameter cuttings.
• The isolated hair follicles are placed in the affected area where scalpel or needle holes have been made.

What Are The Hair Transplant Results Using FUT?
The effects of FUT hair transplantation depend primarily on the skill and experience of the surgical group and may be excellent, at least in terms of density. New hair develops naturally as soon as it is transplanted, and within 3-5 months the first results appear, which are completed after 10 months. It is important to emphasize that usually a significant proportion of the hair of the transplant falls gradually after surgery, but this phenomenon is considered quite normal as new hair grows in place. The hair of the transplant grows like the rest of the hair and remains permanently. They are wrinkled, torn, combed, tolerate any kind of hairdressing process and have no difference from the rest of the hair.

How Are Scars Removed After Hair Transplant?
FUT-strip hair transplant technique is an older hair transplant method that tends to be withdrawn over time. The most fundamental reason why more people prefer FUE versus FUT-strip method is that the latter leaves a scar on the graft site. It is estimated that the majority of patients visiting the plastic surgeon do so because of the uncomfortable, unsightly scars that have been created at the donor site. This rate tends to reach about 30% of patients.

Restoration of scars after the FUT-strip method is an extremely difficult and demanding procedure, which should be done only by a specialist in scar removal plastic surgeon, as is done at Dermatology & Cosmetics Lab. There are three methods of scar removal after hair transplantation with the FUT-strip technique:

Plastic Surgery Using the W-plasty method
During the first phase of this method, the old scar is created by the FUT-strip hair transplant, in the form of a W-plasty. The plastic surgeon then appropriately mobilizes the wounds of the wound and sutures the wound by layers from the depth to the surface using a special technique called trichophytic closure.

This technique is ideal for cases of medium to large scarring, provided there is enough elasticity on the healthy skin surrounding the scar. After the scar restoration and after 8 to 12 months after surgery, the final result becomes apparent, which translates into a significant reduction in the width of the scar that can reach up to 80%, making the scar almost invisible.
In some cases, after plastic surgery with the W-plasty method, hair follicles are transplanted to the affected area by the FUE method to achieve even better results aesthetically.

Restoration of Scars Using Hair Follicle Transplantation Using FUE
Today, more people resort to FUE to restore the scars created after the FUT-strip technique, aiming at very good and absolutely natural results. Restoration of post-surgical scars using FUE is even more interesting, due to the fact that hair follicles can be successfully used not only from the scalp but also from other areas of the body, usually from the chest or back (body hair) or even by facial hair.

FUE single hair follicular transplantation is indicated not only for the recovery of post-operative scars by the FUT-strip technique, but also for any post-operative or congenital scar or scalp scar, especially if it is relatively small in size. Covering any scalp scars with hair follicle transplantation using the FUE technique is done in an absolutely natural way, and the results are really excellent, providing a definitive solution to chronic, old scars that could not be effectively addressed otherwise.

Typically, the final result after a scar resting session with hair follicular hair transplantation using FUE can be expected 10-12 months after the session, but it is not uncommon for new hair even after 18 months, especially if body hair has been used.

FUE is absolutely non-invasive, and according to scientific research, it is clinically proven that the transplanted hair follicles grow in any part of the body. So, at Dermatology & Cosmetics Lab, we use the FUE technique to cover scars in different parts of the face and body. The application of the FUE method has been a great success in covering post-traumatic scars in areas of the face, such as the eyebrows, sideburns, mustache, beard, as well as in rare cases post-traumatic or postoperative scars in the body, such as in the chest in men after surgery to restore gynecomastia or in post traumatic scar, such as in the leg.

Permanent Medical Tatoo - Micropigmentation
The very popular medical tattoo, also known as micropigmentation, is applied in cases where it is unsuitable to proceed with the excision of the postoperative scar from FUT-strip to restore scarring by W-plasty plastic surgery, nor to place scalp in the scar with the FUE technique. When micropigmentation is applied, the scar is covered with very small dots or dye lines, so that the appearance of the tattoo after application is similar to that of very short shaved wool.

At Dermatology & Cosmetics Lab, the micropigmentation technique is applied exclusively by specialised plastic surgeons in a clean room, following sterile surgical procedures. In almost all cases, local anesthesia is required so that the process of micropigmentation is not painful. At each micropigmentation session, all local antisepsis rules apply to the skin where the tattoo is made. The tools used are sterile or disposable and the dyes used are consistent to provide a perfect effect aesthetically. At the same time, they are completely safe for the patient without having toxic or allergenic agents in their composition.

The tattoo, although in no way treats the scar problem but simply masks it, is another option to improve the aesthetic appearance of a scalp scar. However, it requires exceptional experience and very careful application under safety conditions to achieve as natural looking results as possible.

The technical and hygiene rules must be followed precisely, otherwise micropigmentation may be accompanied by significant complications. The main undesirable effects after applying the medical tattoo may be local infection, inflammation and allergic reaction. The factors responsible for these effects are improper application, inappropriate pigments or the use of non-sterilized tools.

At the end result level, the following phenomenon is often observed. While the effect is initially quite satisfactory, there is gradual discolouration and the tatoo fades away. Also, due to the gradual breakdown of the dyes that have been used, an abnormal change of the original colour is observed. While initially the dye resembled the looks of hair, it gradually acquires a hue of green or blue colour that has nothing to do with the normal hair color. This is due firstly to the rich perfusion of the scalp and to the constant sun exposure, especially when there is not enough hair on the scalp. It is therefore a serious disadvantage that, in most cases, a repeat application of micropigmentation is required several times in the future. Very often, also due to poor application of micropigmentation, especially in areas with sparse hair coverage, the aesthetic effect is still unnatural, with larger size spots, diffusion of colour, different colour from normal, etc.