Five Different Types of FUE Punches
FUE is a hair transplant technique that is gaining popularity. There are many different types of punches used in the FUE hair transplant procedure and Dr. Nakatsui will choose which one is best for you. In the video below, Dr. Nakatsui goes through some of the punches he has used over the years. As did virtually all physicians doing FUE in the early days, he first started using a manual punch with a sharp, smooth edge. This penetrated the skin well but had a high relatively transection rate. The next advance was the development of the dull punch. This was again a manual punch and had the advantage of decreasing the amount of transection as the dull edge was less likely to transect a hair. This did work but had its own disadvantages, such as requiring a large amount of force to penetrate the skin in some patients.
The next idea was to use a motorized device to power the sharp and dull FUE tips. This made things easier but with the added speed of rotation came a slightly increased risk of hair transection. Even a dull punch can cut through a hair when rotating fast enough!
Subsequent to this came the development of the dull hex punch, as well as the fluted or trumpet punch, as well as the serrated punch.
Watch this video as Dr. Nakatsui discusses the different punches he has used, as well as the ones he favors currently.