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Procedure transplanted leg hair to hairline

The transplantation of leg hair to the scalp may provide additional options for male patients seeking refined hairlines, according to recent study results.

The study was successful for two male patients whose leg hair was extracted and transplanted to their hairlines, Sanusi Umar, MD, associate faculty, Department of Medicine, Dermatology Division, University of California, Los Angeles, said in the report.

Both patients previously had been treated with multiple follicular unit strip surgery and follicular unit transplantations but were unhappy with their results. In order to create a natural-looking hairline, Umar adapted the hair transplant technique that uses single hair follicles from the safe donor area. He said his procedure, performed using local anesthesia, allowed finer width leg hair to be transplanted into the patients’ hairlines, an option when head donor hair is not practical.

According to his study, patient 1 experienced a fully grown and soft-looking hairline, with a rate of approximately 75% to 80% growth of the 1,025 transplanted leg hair follicles by 9 months. After 4 years, the results remained the same without the appearance of scars. The donor leg area healed after 3 months and did not show scarring. Patient 2 had similar results, with 75% to 80% of the 1,000 transplanted leg hairs growing and no signs of scarring on the hairline or donor leg area. At 3 years, the patient’s results were sustained.

These cases “further emphasize the possibility of a new pool of donor supply for situations in which a patient has excessive baldness and insufficient head donor hair … ,” Umar said. He added there are limitations, including longer operating times, the need for sufficient body hair and a higher level of skill for conducting the procedure.