title: Follicular unit transplantation for the treatment of secondary cicatricial alopecia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cicatricial alopecia encompasses a diverse group of disorders characterized by the permanent destruction of hair follicles and irreversible hair loss. Follicular unit transplantation was developed in 1994. However, large-scale clinical trials are necessary to study follicular unit transplantation for treating Chinese cicatricial alopecia patients.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the efficacy of follicular unit transplantation in the treatment of cicatricial alopecia in Chinese patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with cicatricial alopecia were enrolled. The designated recipient area, follicular unit density of the donor site, transplanted density and operative time were recorded. Postoperative follow-up was conducted within six to 24 months; the density of hair in the recipient area was calculated using a Folliscope (Hansderma Co, USA). Patients' self-reported satisfaction and long-term complications were recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-seven patients were enrolled. Cicatricial alopecia was caused by burns (n=8), trauma (n=21) and plastic surgery (cleft lip and palate repair [n=8]). Burn patients had a significantly larger bald area than the other patients (P<0.01). The operative time was significantly correlated with recipient area. The longest operation was 14.5 h; the largest transplanted area was 96 cm(2). At follow-up, the surviving follicular unit density/transplanted follicular unit density rate was 64.29% to 95.00% (mean 78.96%); the surviving/transplanted (S/T) area was 100% for 30 patients, 90% to 100% for five patients and <90% for two patients. The lowest S/T area was 82.81%. The S/T index was significantly and inversely correlated with operative time. Regarding long-term complications, two patients had postoperative epidermoid cysts that healed with local treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Follicular unit transplantation is an effective method for treating cicatricial alopecia. It is relatively safe and yields satisfactory postoperative results. Extending the results of the present study to Chinese clinical practice is warranted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Burns and Wound Center, Second Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University;
authors.forename: Huawei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.affiliation: Department of Burns and Wound Center, Second Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University;
authors.forename: Hu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hang
authors.affiliation: Department of Burns and Wound Center, Second Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University;
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yunyun
authors.affiliation: Department of Burns and Wound Center, Second Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University;
authors.forename: Jiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hongfei
authors.affiliation: Department of Burns and Wound Center, Second Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University;
authors.forename: Han
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chunmao
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jufang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Haiyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yuyan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiaobo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Guo
keywords: Cicatricial alopecia; Follicular unit transplantation (FUT); Hair transplantation