Scar Repair using chest hair

Wide donor scars are a problem all hair restoration surgeons see. They are difficult to treat, can be caused by poor laxity of the donor site, or too wide a strip being excised. Often attempts at scar reduction fail, as the scar "stretches back" to its original wide state.

A method that I have been using is transplanting chest hair removed by follicular unit extraction (removal of hair follicles one unit at a time, using a one mm punch) and transplanting into the scar. I make the recipient sites first, and hand the grafts immediately to the technician to plant into the sites, thus the grafts are out of the body for only 10 to 20 seconds. The grafts were planted at about 30 per square cm.

In this particular patient (photos below), the "after" photos are three months post-op, showing almost immediate growth. Also, body hair seemed to behave in "recipient dominant" fashion when transplanted into the scalp. It will take up to a full year to get the final results in this patient. Within three months, the donor area was completely healed. Body hair transplanted into a wide donor scar is a viable method of dealing with this common problem.

Wide donor scar from previous transplant before repair.

Chest hairs transplanted one at a time

Density is 30 per square cm.

Three months post-op, showing almost immediate growth.
It will take up to a full year to get the final results in this patient.