Single–Follicular-Unit Hair Transplantation to Correct Cleft Lip Moustache Alopecia

In 2001, an 18-year-old boy with a cleft lip scar underwent a successful single-follicular-unit hair transplantation to restore his moustache hair, which was previously absent in the scarred midportion of his upper lip. The procedure was performed in an outpatient setting and involved the use of advanced technology and an understanding of hair follicle clustering into follicular units. The donor hair was taken from the submental beard area to match the texture and growth characteristics of the upper lip hair. The surgery resulted in natural-looking hair restoration without a "pluggy" appearance, and the patient expressed satisfaction with the outcome after one year, with no need for a second procedure. This case highlighted the potential of hair transplantation surgery to correct alopecia in areas affected by cleft lip scars and other cosmetic surgery scars, as well as its increasing use in women with female-pattern alopecia. The authors anticipated that follicular-unit hair transplant surgery would become more common until gene therapy or microcloning techniques are developed.