Minimizing injury to the donor area in follicular unit extraction (FUE) harvesting.

Background: Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) is considered to be a minimally invasive procedure, and the injury to the donor area caused by a sharp punch may result in dermal fibrosis and clinically observed hypopigmentation.

Objective: To evaluate with advanced image processing the efficacy of using 0.9% normal saline in minimizing the injury to the donor area in FUE donor harvesting.