What is Scarring Alopecia?
This condition occurs in hair loss patients and the problem is diagnosed up to 3%. This problem is more seen in healthy men and women of all ages. It mostly occurs due to irreversible damage to the epithelial hair follicle stem cells. This condition is also a major part of chronic lupus erythematosus in which different organs of the body are affected very badly.
However, in some cases, the hair loss is gradual and there no symptoms also for a long time. Whereas in some cases, the patient feels severe itching, pain, and burning. Usually, at this time even the scar is also not visible. On the other hand, the inflammation damages the follicles which are under the skin surface. The area which is affected will show very few signs such as it is red, the area is pigmented, or draining sinuses. The scarring alopecia is of different types. The treatment of scarring alopecia can be solved by taking medications such as steroids, cyclosporine, and hydroxychloroquine. there are some other drugs also such as methotrexate, tacrolimus, and thalidomide is also used to treat the issue.
Scarring Alopecia in case of Fire Survivor
Burn injuries caused by chemical, flame, or electrical injury can affect a very large body surface. Many people are devastated after this experience and they don’t feel confident about the way they look. Sometimes due to fire, the hair follicles also get destroyed. This process is very challenging to transplant the hair follicles. The hair loss is extremely more common in areas such as scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes, and beard region.
The problem of hair loss also leave a great impact on the self-esteem and it also affects the quality of life of a person. This condition is traumatic both physically and mentally.
The Option of treatment is available
Many patients choose non-surgical methods of treatment to address the problem. However, studies have shown that hair transplant gives more effective and superior results. The burn multi-disciplinary team consider the option of Follicular unit transplantation (FUT). The main challenge with this method is to understand the natural growth which will help in having a realistic result.
The treatment is divided into two stages
- The first phase of hair transplantation is self-generated and it is known as the surgical stage.
- Then on the transplanted area, topical application of 5% minoxidil lotion is applied.
The biggest dimension which was successfully repaired was 240 cm 2 and the smallest was 10 cm 2. After the surgery, there are no side effects also. However, there are also different factors which determine whether the treatment is suitable for the patient or not. This includes the degree of hair loss, from where you are getting the treatment, the experience of the surgeon, and the method of doing the treatment. It is better to choose a surgeon who is a specialist in this field.