A Discussion of Current Techniques

[Dr. Tejinder Bhatti]

Hello everyone. I am happy to take part on Bald Truth Talk to engage patients and to provoke healthy discussion with colleagues.

I would like to discuss the opinions that each of you have regarding the merits of different techniques that are currently available to the patient. As we all know follicular unit strip surgery has been the gold standard for many years. However, FUE has been quickly gaining ground and as of the latest reports from the ISHRS FUE is now at parity with strip surgery in that approximatley 1/2 of all procedures performed are FUE. I personally halted all strip surgery in my clinic several years ago and I am performing only FUE surgery exclusively. Strip is quickly moving to the background as some of the last hold outs for strip exclusive offerings have surrendered to the patient demand for FUE. With the number of new clinics opening every day, and they most likely are only offering FUE, the growth will continue to climb and eventually push strip into a niche only corner of the industry.

I would like to hear other opinions about the present state of the industry and where readers and members believe it is headed. Is FUE going to continue to grow? Will strip make some sort of comeback or will an alternative procedure be presented such as Piloscopy or mFUE that will make an impact on the future of surgery?

I look forward to all of your comments and opinions on this subject.