Surgical correction of primary cicatricial alopecia: Experience with nine patients, Primer skatrisyel alopesinin cerrahi olarak düzeltilmesi: Dokuz hasta ile olan deneyim

Abstract

Background and Design: Primary excision and hair transplantation are infrequently used to treat stable primary cicatricial alopecia (PCA). Follicular unit extraction (FUE) method has gained popularity in recent years. In this study, we aimed to investigate long-term results and effectiveness of hair transplantation in the treatment of PCA. Materials and Methods: In this study, 9 patients with stable (at least for a year) and histopathologically proven PCA, who were treated with FUE hair transplantation between 2011 and 2014, were evaluated retrospectively. Medical archive data was used to retrieve treatment details and results of the treatment. Patient satisfaction was evaluated by using a five-point Likert scale. Results: Nine patients with a median age of 41 years were included retrospectively in this study. Median disease duration was six years and median stable disease duration was two years. Histopathological diagnoses were lichen planopilaris (4 cases), frontal fibrosing alopecia (2 cases), pseudopelade (2 cases), and folliculitis decalvans (1 case). Test transplantation sessions were performed in three patients who were under 30 years of age or who were clinically suspected to have non-stable PCA. Hair transplantation was not performed in one patient due to disease activation after the test transplantation session. Median 1250 grafts were transplanted in eight patients with using FUE technique. The patients were regularly followed up for a median of 26 months duration. Only one patient, out of eight transplanted, experienced reactivations in donor and recipient area in the postoperative second year. In seven transplanted patients, there was not any reactivation and five patients were very satisfied with the result of hair transplantation. Conclusion: Optimal long-term results following surgical treatment can be achieved in PCA patients with proper patient selection. In this selected group of PCA patients, FUE method of hair transplantation is a reliable choice of surgical treatment method. © 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.