A New Universal Follicular Unit Excision Classification System for Hair Transplantation Difficulty and Patient Outcome

    June 2022 in “ Clinical, cosmetic and investigational dermatology ”
    Sanusi Umar, Paul Shitabata, Paul T. Rose, Marissa J. Carter, Rattapon Thuangtong, Boudine Lohlun, H. Benhiba, Tayfun Oguzoglu, Maria Marta Zollinger, Juan R. Maldonado, Alejandro Gonzalez, Myroslava Novosilska, Alba Gómez‐Zubiaur, Miguel Andrés Capó Martí
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    TLDR The new SFS Scale predicts hair transplant difficulty using hair and skin types, with thick skin and coily hair being hardest to work with.
    The document introduces a new scoring system called the Sanusi FUE Score Scale (SFS Scale) to predict the difficulty of follicular unit excision (FUE) hair transplantation procedures. This system considers hair and skin characteristics, assigning scores to three hair subtypes (straight-wavy, curly, and coily-kinky) and three skin subtypes (thick/firm, soft/thin, and medium thickness/firmness). The scores were determined by the consensus of 13 experienced FUE practitioners globally. They found that thick/firm skin and coily-kinky hair types were the most challenging, with straight-wavy hair being the least. The final score range of 2-9 corresponds to five grades of challenge in FUE, indicating the level of specialized skill or equipment needed. The scale aims to better predict FUE performance and patient outcomes, but further validation of this classification system is necessary.
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