HOI Encyclopedia Category: Techniques & Technologies

Slit Technique

Written by HOI Medical Editorial Team
Medically reviewed by Dr. Ahmet Dilber
First published: December 2025 · Last updated: September 2026

The slit technique is an implantation method where recipient sites are created before graft placement. It allows controlled angle, depth, and spacing, supporting efficient implantation, but requires accurate planning to avoid density errors or vascular compromise.

Key Facts

Slit technique All recipient sites cut before grafts are placed
Sagittal Runs front to back, parallel to hair flow
Coronal Runs side to side, across hair flow
Coronal strength Finer control of hair direction
Sagittal strength Less risk to existing native hair
Main limitation Sites stay open while grafts wait

The slit technique separates two jobs that can otherwise collide. All recipient sites are cut first, then grafts are placed into them. Because the design exists before a single graft is handled, angle, direction, spacing and depth are decided while the surgeon can still see the whole field — and placement afterwards becomes a fast, repeatable step.

Sagittal and coronal recipient sitesTwo patches of scalp seen from above, with existing hair flowing from left to right. Sagittal slits run front to back, parallel to the hair flow, so the blade slides between existing hairs with less risk to them, but the graft is held narrow-side on and lateral fanning is harder to control. Coronal slits run side to side, across the flow, holding the graft broadside so its direction is controlled more finely, at a higher risk to native hair in a thinning area.SEEN FROM ABOVE · HAIR FLOWS LEFT TO RIGHTSagittalRuns front to back, parallel to hair flow.Slides between existing hairs — less risk to them.Less control over lateral fanning.CoronalRuns side to side, across hair flow.Holds the graft broadside — finer control of direction.Higher risk to native hair in a thinning area.
A slit is a line, and the line can run two ways relative to the hair around it.

Slit orientation is the real variable. A slit is a line, and the line can run in two directions relative to the head.

Sagittal Coronal
Runs Front to back, parallel to hair flow Side to side, across hair flow
Strength Slides between existing hairs with less risk to them Holds the graft broadside, giving finer control of direction
Trade-off Less control over lateral fanning Higher risk to native hair in a thinning area

The blade is chosen to match the graft, not the marketing. Sites are made with custom-cut blades, needles or crystal-tipped blades, sized to the graft that will go into them. A site wider than the graft leaves it loose; a site narrower crushes it on entry.

Its limitation is time. Sites are open while grafts wait, so the sequence has to be organised around keeping that interval short. Where sites are made and filled in the same motion with an implanter, that interval disappears — a different trade, not a better one.

For placement with an implanter pen instead of pre-made sites, see the DHI technique. For the procedure as a whole, see the FUE technique.

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Page last updated: 05.09.2026
Editor Contact: fatih@hairofistanbul.com

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