Results from two patients undergoing leg hair transplant sustained at three and four years
TUESDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Transplantation of leg hair follicles can soften the appearance of the hairline in patients receiving hair transplants, according to a study published in the February issue of the Archives of Dermatology.
Sanusi Umar, M.D., from FineTouch Dermatology in Redondo Beach, Calif., transplanted 1,025 leg hair follicles to an area 0.5 to 1.0 cm in front of and 0.5 to 1.0 cm internal to the vanguard hair of the original hairline and temporal recesses in one patient, and transplanted 1,000 leg hairs and 600 head hairs to advance and soften the hairline and to create a custom widow's peak in another patient.
Umar found that, in the first patient, transplantation resulted in a fully grown and soft-looking hairline after nine months, with growth of 75 to 80 percent of the transplanted leg hair. The transplanted leg hair had a longer mean length than the length of the original leg hair, with similar hair width, but less curliness. Compared with existing head hair width, the transplanted leg hair width was significantly finer. Results were sustained after four years, minimizing concerns that leg hair cycle variations might result in subsequent hair loss. Similar results were observed at three years in the second patient.
"The use of leg hair in transplantation provides additional options in patients with hairlines that need to be refined," the author writes.
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