Follicular unit transplantation for male-pattern hair loss: Evaluation of 120 patients

• Published in: Journal of plastic, reconstructive & aesthetic surgery reconstructive & aesthetic surgery, 2006-11, Vol.59 (11), p.1162-1169
• Main Authors: Tan Baser, Nesrin, Cigsar, Bulent, Balci Akbuga, Unzile, Terzioglu, Ahmet, Aslan, Gurcan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age Distribution; Aged; Alopecia - surgery; Androgenetic alopecia; Biological and medical sciences; Dermatology; Esthetics; Follicular unit transplantation (FUT); Hair and nails disorders; Hair Color; Hair Follicle - transplantation; Hair transplantation; Humans; Male; Male-pattern hair loss; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Patient Satisfaction; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures - methods; Scalp - surgery; Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases; Tissue and Organ Harvesting - methods; Treatment Outcome
• ISSN: 1748-6815; 1878-0539
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bjps.2006.03.041

The main aim in surgical hair restoration is to restore hair, making the scalp look natural. Interviews with earlier patients who received hair transplants revealed that their complaints were – a straight anterior hairline that looked unnatural, and hair that looked like ‘sprouted grass’. The use of follicular unit transplantation (FUT) technique, where hair roots are harvested under magnification, is becoming widespread. In this technique, hair roots are harvested into natural follicular units that contain 1–4 hair roots. In this article, we present our results related to hair transplantation by FUT technique, performed on 120 patients between the ages of 21 and 75 years with male-pattern hair loss. We made simple yet useful interventions to avoid the occurrence of the above-mentioned problems. Initially, drawings based on the middle line and the two temporal regression points were made for a natural-looking anterior hairline. Following this, irregular seeding was done instead of seeding in rows, to obtain a natural hairline. To avoid the ‘sprouted grass’ look, single hair roots were placed on the anterior hairline taking into consideration the direction of hair growth. However, the FUT technique is not adequate on its own for natural-looking hair restoration. Good planning and creation of an anterior hairline suited to the individual's forehead structure is fundamental for successful results. In addition, we believe that hair texture is very important in hair transplantation and additional care should be given particularly to patients with dark-coloured and hard hair.