Before treatment begins, a local anaesthetic will be applied to the donor area, either via the traditional needle method or the needle-free anaesthetic combined with the traditional needle method (dependant on your package choice). 

There are then three fundamental stages to the FUE procedure:

• Extractions: Our highly skilled nurses will extract the individual follicles from the donor area using specialised surgical equipment (micro-motor punch)
• Opening hair channels: depending on your package the Doctor or a highly skilled experienced senior nurse will use a sapphire tip blade to open tiny hair channels (micro sized slits in the scalp area) which will the later receive the transplanted follicles. This will determine the depth and angle that the hair will eventually grow
• Re-implantation: The hair follicles once separated and sorted will then be inserted carefully with a set of forceps into the opened hair channels

Good candidates for SAPPHIRE FUE should have healthy hair growth on the donor sites to guarantee stronger follicular growth once transplanted. Our specialists will consider the following when determining if you are a suitable candidate for an FUE procedure:

• Aesthetic goals 
• Medical history
• Current hair loss 
• Potential future hair loss
• The texture and density of the hair in the donor area
• Number of grafts needed to give you the overall results you are looking to achieve

the length of this procedure can vary depending on the number of grafts that need to be transplanted. Generally, a SAPPHIRE FUE hair transplant takes between five and nine hours to complete.

Following your SAPPHIRE FUE hair transplant you will be able to return to the hotel to rest. The following day you may be required to return to the clinic for a check-up, head clean and removal of your bandages if required. The 2nd day after surgery our experienced nursing team will perform your first hair wash, demonstrating the appropriate methods and products to use to prevent damaging the follicles and enabling you to achieve the best results from the start! A YouTube video is provided to show you how to perform this yourself when you return home. You will also be provided with essential medication to take after the procedure. 

We will give you detailed advice on how to approach the aftercare to ensure all of our patients have the best opportunity of achieving fantastic results. There may be some swelling which can be helped by wearing the head band for a full 72 hours from the day after surgery. You will be required to sleep with your head elevated on the neck pillow provided for the first week following the procedure, this will help protect the newly implanted follicles and also help minimise the swelling. 

To give yourself (and your hair) the best opportunity to achieve an amazing result we would strongly recommend, post op that you:

• Avoid physical activity and swimming for one month 
• Avoid alcohol and smoking as much as possible to aid your recovery
• Protect your head from direct sunlight for the first 3 months at least
• Take between one and two weeks off work after the procedure, depending on the amount of physical activity required of your job. 

Your full result will be visible at around 10 to 12 months after the procedure. The newly implanted hair will initially fall out and being to regrow at approximately 3 months (very fine baby hair that will not grow in a uniformed fashion) The very beginning of any significant regrowth will not start to happen until around six months.

• SAPPHIRE FUE hair transplants leave only very small puncture scars on the donor area as opposed to the long linear scar left by the FUT method. These tiny scars are barely noticeable and easy to hide depending on the length of your hair (the longer you wear your hair the less noticeable it is)
• The small puncture scars also mean less pain and quicker recovery time following the procedure compared with FUT
• FUE also carries fewer risks of infection and complications compared with FUT

FUE method can provide higher graft numbers than the DHI method. With FUE up to 4500/5000 grafts can be transplanted in a single session if your donor area is suitable.