Treatment of Cicatricial Alopecia
Wednesday, October 29th, 2008There was a new article released on different methods of approaching cicatricial alopecia. This article was published in the journal of dermatologic therapy as they try to explore the possibilities for hair transplantation vs. excision of the balding areas in cicatricial alopecia.
The authors believe that surgical correction of cicatricial alopecia can yield exceptional results when performed in the appropriate clinical scenario. To facilitate determination of the most suitable corrective therapy, they proposed two new categories of cicatricial alopecia: “unstable” and “stable.”
They describe unstable cicatricial alopecia as intermittent hair loss that results in possible subsequent scarring hair loss in either new or old areas. Stable cicatricial alopecia, on the other hand, refers to fixed permanent scarring. While surgical excision is preferred to hair transplantation for both categories of cicatricial alopecia, this preference is even stronger in cases of unstable cicatricial alopecia due to its intermittent and progressive nature.
Regardless of which corrective technique is used, analysis of specific physical patient characteristics coupled with a careful view towards the possible evolution of male pattern baldness or female pattern hair loss are essential to achieve superior long-term results as authors stated.
They have setup specific guidelines for identifying these physical traits as well as for performing hair transplantation and surgical excision in order to achieve optimal cosmetic outcomes and minimize postoperative complications.
