Laser hair transplantation.

[BACKGROUND] A new ultrapulse CO2 laser has been investigated for its possible use in hair transplanting. This laser, because of its ultrashort high energy pulses, produces far less thermal damage to adjacent tissues, including hair follicles, than earlier types of CO2 lasers. The potential advantages of using such a laser in minigrafting are reviewed and include less bleeding, greater density, and absence of "compression."

[OBJECTIVE] The purpose of this study was to see if hair survival in grafts placed into laser-prepared sites would be as good or better than that seen with scalpel slits.

[METHOD] Hair counts were used in 10 patients to compare hair survival in grafts placed into laser-prepared sites and into scalpel-prepared sites in a comparable but contralateral location.

[RESULTS] Average graft hair counts were greater in laser-prepared sites in four of 10 patients, equal to grafts in scalpel-prepared sites in five, and fewer in one. Hair growth occurred earlier in laser-prepared sites in five of the 10 patients.

[CONCLUSION] The authors are optimistic that the ultrapulse laser will become an important tool in hair transplanting.