Transplanting into scar tissue

[Under Construction]

Is there a preferred slit/insertion technique to provide greater blood supply and yield when transplanting into scar tissue?

 

Thanks

[Under Construction]

Is there a preferred slit/insertion technique to provide greater blood supply and yield when transplanting into scar tissue?

 

Thanks

[Dr. Ricardo Mejia]

It is best to use small incisions, minimal depth to avoid transection of underlying vessels, avoid high dense packing, low concentration of epinephrine in the tumescent solution. Angle of the blade is important to avoid significant deep trauma. As long as you are using small instrumentation for the perpedicular or coronal slits, you shoould be fine. I like the perpendicular slits.

[Petchski]

What's the success rate of FUE in to scar tissue, i've heard it's 50/50 whether they will grow...

[Dr. Ricardo Mejia]

There are many variable about the success rate. The type of scar. the thickness, the underlying blood supply/ vascularity, the location. In general scars have reduced blood supply and we do get good results provided we minize the trauma to the area, the epinephrine concentrations and try not to dense pack too much. These are the main concerns. If you have a good graft from either FUE or strip, the above are the main issues for the success rate.

[Petchski]

Thanks for the reply doc.

[Dr. Glenn Charles]

I totally agree with Dr. Mejia. One of the main problems with transplanting into scar tissue is that the results are much less predictable than transplanting into normal tissue. A doctor can transplant the same number of grafts with the same technique into two separate scars and have great results in one and poor results in the other. Unfortunately, scar revisions don't always reduce the size of the scar and in some cases the scar actually comes out worse. So transplanting into a scar might be a good first choice and the patient can always try a scar revision later as a last resort.

[Dr. William Lindsey]

I agree with Dr. Charles. Just Saturday I had a young black girl with a 50cent sized atrophic, hypopigmented scar just to the right of her "donor strip center" from a childhood injury. The family requested hair transplant into the scar. I declined saying that I thought the scar SHE has would not support the type of density that she wanted, and in my opinion a far better solution is serial scar excision. We could get half or more at session one, and the rest in a year. But, she is a young girl, very active and with her atheletic activities and just being a kid, she sure could stretch out what would otherwise be a nice scar revision.

 

But I also told them, that you really can't see it if she would just wear her her down instead of in a pony tail. That is the best and risk-free alternative that she could do until she reaches adulthood and can decide for herself if the procedure is worth it.

 

Dr. Lindsey McLean VA