Transection

Transection is damage to a follicle during extraction, where the punch cuts through it rather than freeing it intact. Transected grafts are still counted and frequently do not grow.

Where you'll meet it

Almost nowhere, which is the point. It happens during extraction, it is measured by counting damaged grafts against the total, and almost no clinic volunteers the number.

Why it matters

FUE punches cut around a follicle that the surgeon cannot fully see, following its angle beneath the skin by feel and experience. Get the angle wrong and the punch slices the follicle.

A transected graft is still extracted, still counted, still charged for, and often simply does not grow. You find out at twelve months, and you cannot prove it.

What affects the rate

Operator experience above everything. Also punch size and type, hair curl, skin thickness and how fast the team is working. A clinic running many cases a day has an incentive to work quickly.

FUT has an advantage here, because the strip is dissected under microscopes with the follicles visible, so transection rates are typically lower.

What to ask

What their transection rate is, and how they measure it. A surgeon who has a number has been counting, which is itself the answer you want.

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