Hair Transplantation Controversies

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Hair transplant surgery creates consistently natural appearing transplanted hair for men. It is increasingly popular procedure to restore natural growing hair for men with hair loss. OBJECTIVE: To review some current controversies in hair transplant surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Review of the English PubMed literature and specialty literature in hair transplant surgery. RESULTS: Some of the controversies in hair transplant surgery include appropriate donor harvesting technique including elliptical donor harvesting versus follicular unit extraction whether manual versus robotic, the role of platelet-rich plasma and low-level light surgery in hair transplant surgery. CONCLUSION: Hair transplant surgery creates consistently natural appearing hair. As with all techniques, there are controversies regarding the optimal method for performing the procedure. Some of the current controversies in hair transplant surgery include optimal donor harvesting techniques, elliptical donor harvesting versus follicular unit extraction, the role of low-level light therapy and the platelet-rich plasma therapy in the procedure. Future studies will further clarify their role in the procedure.