Complications and Difficult Cases: A Case Report of Central Area Necrosis Following a Hair Transplant Procedure
March 2014
in “
Hair transplant forum international
”
hair transplant Follicular Unit Transplantation FUT follicular units skin necrosis debridement atrophic scar vascular supply peripheral vascular disease diabetes coronary artery disease atherosclerosis smoking sickle cell disease hypercoagulation scalp surgeries scar vascular disease heart disease blood clotting disorders
TLDR A man experienced skin death after a hair transplant, likely due to poor blood supply related to his smoking habit.
In 2014, a case study was reported involving a 57-year-old male patient who experienced central area necrosis following a hair transplant procedure. The patient, a long-term smoker, underwent a Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) procedure, where 1,850 follicular units were transplanted to his frontal hairline, anterior, and midscalp areas. Eight days post-surgery, an area of thick crusting was noticed in the frontal core of his anterior scalp, which developed into full-thickness skin necrosis. The necrotic area was debrided and left to heal, resulting in an atrophic and depressed scar in the central scalp area. A year later, 350 follicular unit grafts were transplanted into the scar and surrounding areas. The patient reported satisfaction with the final outcome. The report highlighted the importance of identifying patients at risk for poor vascular supply and minimizing their intraoperative risk. Risk factors include older age, history of peripheral vascular disease, poorly controlled diabetes, history of coronary artery disease and atherosclerosis, heavy or prolonged smoking, history of sickle cell disease, history of hypercoagulation, and previous scalp surgeries.
