FUE hair transplant mega-sessions consist of extracting and placing 4,000+ grafts in a single procedure. This is much more than the usual 1,000-3,500 that is extracted and placed in a typical FUE hair transplant procedure.
With a higher number of grafts extracted in one sitting, the risks of shock loss, scarring, and low-graft survival rate increase. Below, I break down how each of these risks is increased by an FUE mega-session.
Shock loss – What’s important to understand is that any surgical procedure is a type of trauma that the body endures. Your surrounding follicles are affected by the extraction and placement of grafts in the scalp tissue. If certain surrounding hairs in both the donor and recipient zones are weak and nearing the end of their life cycle, it’s possible the trauma of surgery could push them over the edge. This means they may be permanently shed through a condition called shock loss. During FUE mega-sessions, this surgical trauma is amplified. More grafts are extracted and placed which means more of the surrounding hairs are susceptible to shock loss.
Scarring – The FUE method of hair transplantation consists of each graft being hand extracted one-by-one. While tedious, it offers natural looking hair transplant results with minimal scarring. Anywhere from 1,000-3,000 grafts are comfortably and safely extracted during FUE. Much more than that and the low risk of scarring is negated. This is because the donor area is getting completed depleted in order to sustain the high number of grafts needed. This creates more scar tissue which means visible scarring and decreased hair growth returning in the donor area.
Low-graft survival rate – The longer grafts are out of the scalp, the greater the likelihood they will not survive once transplanted. Due to the nature of mega-sessions and the extended amount of time they take to complete, grafts tend to be sitting outside of the scalp for a longer period of time. Additionally, grafts are extremely fragile and sensitive. Mega-sessions don’t often allow time and space for the quality of care needed to maintain the health and safety of the grafts. Any damage to the graft and it will not survive once transplanted. It is believed by many experienced hair transplant surgeons that less than half of all transplanted grafts in a mega-session survive.
So how do we achieve high graft hair transplants for those patients who need it without doing a mega-session?
When a high number of grafts are needed to achieve the desired density and fullness the patient wants in their hair, it is often better to utilize multiple surgeries over time. This allows the scalp to heal and newly transplanted follicles to grow naturally and fully.
This in turn yields better results over time, as shock loss is reduced, scarring is minimal to non-existent, and graft survival rate is high.  You are much more likely to see the full results of a high graft FUE hair transplant if the surgery is split up.
If you’d like to learn more about the FUE method of hair transplantation and get a graft and price quote for your specific hair needs, give us a call for a free consultation today.