A 15-Year Long-Term Survival Study of Leg Hair Transplanted to Scalp Scar

ABSTRACT

In addition to beard hair, hair from other body areas can be used in follicular unit excision (FUE). Currently, there are no reports documenting the long-term characteristics and survival of these transplanted grafts, leaving their long-term survival unknown. Therefore, we conducted a long-term study in which this author’s leg hair was transplanted to my frontal scar. Despite a high percentage of leg hairs being in the telogen phase, we observed a high survival rate of transplanted hairs from the lower leg to the scalp scar over an extended time frame. However, we noticed that the recipient site influenced hair caliber, and, after 10 years, all the leg donor hairs had miniaturized, making this procedure less effective. Hence, long-term observation is necessary to evaluate any changes in the characteristics of transplanted leg hairs over time when used for scalp scar transplantation.