Q: I have a bald patch on my scalp diagnosed as DLE, can this be corrected with a hair transplant?
A: DLE or discoid lupus erythematosus is a type of autoimmune disease where the body produces an inflammatory reaction to components of the skin, causing it to scar and lose hair.
The skin in the area of hair loss generally has a smooth appearance with tiny empty hair follicles, redness, and altered pigmentation. These skin changes help to differentiate it from the more common condition alopecia areata where the underlying skin appears normal.
The diagnosis of DLE can be confirmed by biopsy. Because DLE may exhibit a property called Koebnerization, where direct trauma can make the lesions enlarge, surgical hair restoration risks making the condition worse and is, therefore, not indicated.
Topic: Hair TransplantTags: Alopecia Areata / Altered Pigmentation / Autoimmune Disease / Bald Patch / Discoid Lupus Erythematosus (DLE) / Koebnerization / Redness / Trauma
Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. at 10:48 am
Rate This Post:
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
Share/Save This Post:
Other Posts in this Topic:
- What Causes Patch of Hair Loss in Women?
Q: I am a 34 year woman with a patch of hair loss by my temple. I went to the salon to have my hair... - Can One Have Hair Transplant to Cover Single Bald Patch?
Q: I just started to lose my hair but it's just in one spot, like a circle on the left side of my head.... - What are Most Common Causes of Hair Loss in Women?
Q: What are the most common causes of hair loss in women other than genes? A: For localized hair loss... - Can Hair Loss be Caused by Pregnancy, Prozac, or Hyperactive Thyroid?
Q: I had a baby 12 weeks ago and have recently been diagnosed with a hyperactive thyroid, although only...
What is the failure rate for hair transplants?
Are there any post-operative things a person should do after a hair transplant?
Why is hair transplant better then products such as rogaine? Wouldn’t it be cheaper and easier to regrow your own hair rather then undergo a medical operation?
After undergoing a hair transplant surgery successfully, will I have to make any changes in my lifestyle and do I have to be on any long-term medication?
What is the science behind permanent hair zones? Do they ever differ depending on the individual, and how does the entire transplantation process differ for someone who may have undergone chemotherapy, or a similar treatment. Is the process even applicable anymore?
If hair transplantation does not prevent hair loss, does that mean that, even though the transplanted hair is more resistant, it will also start thinning?
What changes will I have to make in terms of grooming and hairstyling after a hair transplant procedure?
Is there any significant danger of rejection or incompatibility in a hair transplant?
Will the hair that is transplanted fall out also because of DHT?
Are there any visible scars after taking hair from the permanent zone and won’t my hair look thinner in this area?
I was wondering if transplanted hair also eventually goes gray or it somehow immune to the aging process once it is transplanted?
How long of a process is Hair transplantation? and how long can one expect healing time afterwards?
What happens to the area in the “permanent zone” from which you take the donor follicles? Is the removal from that area noticeable?
Is hair transplantation different for women and men?
Is this a minor procedure done in an office, or is it typically done in a hospital room? And does it require the patient to be entirely out or just numbed via local anesthetics?
Could you describe the
Are there other area’s on the body in which “permanent zone” hair may be taken, or must it be taken from other areas of the scalp. If hair is taken from other areas, will it retain the same qualities of hair in that area, or take on the qualities of the hair surrounding it?
What is the recovery time after the procedure (i.e. time to return to work)?
If a person is thining around the sides and/or back and doesn’t feel that they have enough hair for transplantation – can a close relative volunteer to have some of their hair transplanted for the patient? Or along the same thread- if someone has had damage to their scalp from something like a burn- can another person “donate” hair to be transplanted to them? Does the person need to be a relative for this process to work?
What sort of anesthetic is used?
Would transplanted hair last longer if prescribed Finasteride (Propecia) and taken on a daily basis?
Since the transplanted hair is taken from your own body (called an autograph), it is not rejected. Growth can be compromised, however, by a number of factors. An inexperienced doctor or one with poor technique, improper handling of the grafts, extracting grafts that are too large, or placing recipient sites too close together can all contribute to unacceptable results.
The post-operative care after a hair transplant is pretty straight-forward. But briefly, it is important to take frequent showers with gently shampooing to remove crusting. This allows the grafts to heal more quickly. Exercise should be modified so that there is no strain on the donor area following the procedure. Direct sun exposure and cigarette smoking should also be avoided post-op. For more details, please see the section on our website: After Hair Transplant Surgery: http://www.bernsteinmedical.com/hair-transplant/after.php
Unfortunately, topical treatments such as Rogaine, and the more effective oral medication Propecia, can thicken areas of thinning and can prevent further hair loss (if the medication is started early enough) but cannot re-grow hair in areas that are bald. Only a hair transplant can do that.
After the hair transplant is healed you can resume your normal lifestyle. We often recommend that patients stay on finasteride (Propecia) after the procedure to prevent further hair loss, but it has no effect on the transplanted hair and is not needed for the hair transplant to be successful.
The hair follicles in the permanent zone in the back and sides of the scalp are not sensitive to DHT (the hormone that causes hairs on the rest of the scalp in susceptible individuals to gradually shrink and eventually disappear). In chemotherapy, generally all of ones hair falls out, so there is no permanent zone to get the hair from for the transplant. Fortunately, hair that is shed from chemotherapy generally grows back.
The
When a donor strip is removed the wound edges are sewn or stapled together. These results in a redistribution of the hair in the donor area, but the changes in hair distributions are subtle and generally not noticeable.
A hair transplant is generally completed in one day. If post-operative instructions are followed closely, the healing process is very quick, so fast, in fact that you can shower and carefully shampoo your hair the day after surgery. The hair transplant is generally not detectable 7-10 days after the procedure
It is different in a number of respects. First, a much greater percentage of women have diffuse hair loss compared to men. This is a situation where there is generalized thinning all over the scalp, so that there is no stable donor area to get the hair from. Therefore, even before considering transplantation in women, it is important to perform densitometry to make sure the woman
The most common anesthetic used in hair transplantation is a combination of xylocaine, marcaine and epinephrine. The xylocaine is short acting and gets the patient numb very quickly. The marcaine is long-acting, so that the anesthesia will last for most of the procedure, although a long hair transplant session often requires a mid-procedure boost of anesthetic, given before the first round of anesthesia wears off. The epinephrine is added to the mixture to decrease bleeding and to increase the duration of the anesthesia.
A hair transplant is typically performed in the doctor
Unfortunately, hair can not be transplanted from one person to another unless they are identical twins. The genetic differences between all other individuals cause the transplanted hair to be rejected. The same problem exists if the reason for the hair loss is genetic or traumatic, such as in a burn. However, if the individual
A hair transplant is really a follicle transplant, since it is the growing part of the hair (the root or follicle) that is transplanted in the procedure. In fact, the hair is shed from the transplanted follicles within weeks after the restoration, leaving the patient looking very much like he or she did before the procedure. Once the hair is shed, the cycle of transplanted hair is similar to that of normally growing hair. The follicle goes into a resting stage for about 2-3 months, and then begins to produce a new hair. At first, the growth cycle of the new hair may be is shorter than normal with the transplanted hair being finer than the original terminal hairs. Within one to two years after the procedure the hair reverts to its original growth cycle of 3-7 years.
The patient is able to resume non-strenuous work two days after the procedure, but the hair transplant may be noticeable for a week to ten days following the surgery.
Finasteride blocks DHT. Since a hair transplant uses hair taken from the part of the scalp that is not sensitive to DHT (the permanent zone) finasteride will have no effect on the actual hair that is transplanted.
The transplanted hair is permanent, but the hair transplant doesn
There are very few changes that need to be done after surgical hair restoration. Hair that is transplanted is your own hair and therefore can be cut, styled, dyed, etc. as you like. It is cautioned, however, that tight braids, hair extensions, and other forms of styling which cause continuous traction on the transplanted hair is not recommended and can lead to traction alopecia. See http://www.bernsteinmedical.com/hair-loss/women-diagnosis.php
Since a hair transplant involves moving hair from one part of one
If properly performed, a hair transplant will generally result in a very thin, fine scar in the donor area that is completely covered with your existing hair and therefore, would not be is not visible. When the donor strip is removed and the edges closed, the remaining hair is redistributed without a visible decrease in the thickness of the remaining hair. However, if an excessive amount of donor hair is used up, then the area may appear thinner.
The transplanted hair will gray just as your other hair will. Likewise, the rate at which the transplanted hair will gray will be the same as the graying of the hair on the back and sides of the scalp, i.e. where the transplanted hair came from. In addition, if the hair in the donor area thins over the years, the transplanted hair will thin as well
If the donor hair is taken from the permanent zone in the back and sides of the scalp, it will not fall out since hair from this area is not sensitive to DHT, even when the hair is transplanted to a new location on the scalp.