Necrosis of the donor site after hair restoration with follicular unit extraction (FUE): a case report.

Abstract

Follicular unit extraction (FUE) has been developed as one type of follicular unit transplantation surgery, a widely accepted hair-restoration technique. FUE has many advantages, including a small donor area scar, less pain and a slender graft without extra surrounding tissue. Complications are uncommon in the literature. We describe a case of donor-site necrosis after hair restoration with FUE, leading to cicatricial alopecia in the left half of the occipital region. The surgical management of this complication is also discussed. Cicatricial alopecia was treated by two-stage surgery with tissue expanders. There were no complications in the postoperative period and healing was uneventful. We conclude that although FUE has many advantages, necrosis of the donor site may be a serious problem.