Table 1.

Comparison of FUT strip method and FUE

Observation	Strip	FUE
Pain after the procedure	Minor	None
Percent of time the doctor operates on the patient	10–30%	80–90%
Stitches required	Yes	No
Extensive bleeding during or after the procedure	May occur	No
Wearing hairstyle short in the donor area	Not possible	Possible
Natural results	Yes	Yes
Nerve damage, numbness, permanent pain[25]	Possibly	No
Healing time: donor area	2-3 weeks	Approx. 7 days
Healing time: recipient area	Approx. 14 days	10–14 days
Transection rate (grafts damaged during extraction)	Varies 1–2%	5–10%
Recovery time needed before exercise is possible	2–3 weeks	1–2 weeks
Amount of time after which patient may return to work	The day after	Usually the day after
Visible scarring with short hair at back	May be present	Microscopic scars
Reactions to suture materials	Seen rarely	Never a problem
Shaving of head	not needed	needed
Large areas	possible	difficult
Cost	cheaper	expensive
Fatigue	not tiring	tiring