Eyebrow Hair Transplantation in Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia: Pitfalls of Short- and Long-Term Results.

[BACKGROUND] Eyebrow hair loss is usually a primary feature of frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA), which causes significant distress to patients and consequently seek medical help. Eyebrow hair transplantation is a well-accepted and aesthetically successful treatment, but there is a lack of information about the short- and long-term results in this subset of patients.

[OBJECTIVE] To report the short- and long-term eyebrow hair transplantation results in patients with FFA.

[PATIENTS AND METHODS] Ten patients diagnosed with FFA underwent eyebrow hair transplantation. The transplanted hairs were harvested from nonaffected follicles of the occipital scalp skin. On average, 120 to 270 single-hair follicles were implanted per eyebrow.

[RESULTS] Eighty percent of patients achieved excellent hair growth at 6- to 12-month follow-up and satisfactory short-term results (<2 years). However, majority started losing the transplanted hairs after 3 to 4 years. Only 1 patient did not lose transplanted hair in the long-term follow-up (>4 years).

[CONCLUSION] The results of eyebrow hair transplantation in FFA patients are variable and contentious. The short-term outcome is satisfactory, but in most patients, a progressive loss of transplanted hairs can be expected. Therefore, FFA patients inquiring about eyebrow transplantation should be advised about the high possibility of hair graft loss over time.