Approach to Hair Transplantation in Advanced Grade Baldness by Follicular Unit Extraction: A Retrospective Analysis of 820 Cases

January 2019 in “ Journal of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery ”

Kavish Chouhan, Gillian Roga, Amrendra Kumar, Jyoti Gupta

follicular unit extraction FUE hair transplantation beard hair body hair donor area postoperative pain periorbital edema folliculitis ingrown hairs cysts telogen effluvium shock loss necrosis

TLDR Follicular unit extraction is an effective hair transplant method for advanced baldness with high patient satisfaction, but some experienced decreased density over time.

The 2019 retrospective analysis of 820 male patients with advanced baldness (grade 5–7) treated by follicular unit extraction (FUE) found that FUE was a successful method for hair transplantation, yielding natural and aesthetic results. At 12 months post-surgery, 94% of patients were satisfied with the results, 88% felt the donor area looked normal, and 62% opted for a second session to increase coverage area/density. However, 9% reported a decrease in density in the transplanted area after 24 months. The study also found that beard and body hair could be used to augment results in cases with limited donor supply. The most common complications were postoperative pain, periorbital edema, folliculitis, ingrown hairs, cysts, telogen effluvium (shock loss), excessive persistent crusting, and rarely necrosis. Proper patient selection, preoperative planning, and postoperative care were highlighted as important for successful outcomes.

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Research cited in this study

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