Organic Hair Transplantation: A New Concept in Hair Transplantation

2022 Plastic Surgery and Modern Techniques  
Senile aalopecia occurs in all individuals beginning at age 35 regardless of gender due to aging. Androgenic alopecia begins much earlier in life. Standard treatments for alopecia include transplanting existing hair follicles to bald or thinning areas and/or stimulating existing follicles with topical, oral, or injectable medications. These therapies are associated with high costs, adverse side effects, and, in some cases, an inadequate response. Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells (ADMSCs),
more » ... on the other hand, represent a promising medical breakthrough in the field of skin rejuvenation. ADMSCs secrete several growth factors, cytokines, and exosomes that collectively rejuvenate skin by increasing collagen production and promoting fibroblast migration. In this study, the "Cihantimur Fat Transfer" method is used to mechanically extract adipose-derived stem cells that, upon combination with enzymatically digested adipose tissue, yields an ADMSC-enriched lipograft. These ADMSCenriched lipografts are then used in conjunction with the Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) hair transplantation technique to treat alopecia. The results shown herein indicate that this combinatory approach increases the survival rate of grafts and reduces hair loss owing to a more hospitable transplant environment afforded by the growth factor rich ADMSC lipograft. Materials and Methods: Eighteen patients (17 male, 1 female) underwent hair transplantation surgeries between 1 January 2013 and 20 March 2015. Approximately 3000-4000 follicular units were transplanted in each case using the FUE technique. Critically, the graft areas for half of the subjects were pre-treated with an ADMSC-enriched lipograft prepared according to following technique. Autologous fat tissue (100 mL) was obtained from the abdominal area. Half of that tissue was processed using the Cihantimur Fat Transfer method, and the remaining half was processed via enzymatic digestion. The two fractions were recombined to produce a lipograft with high concentrations of both ADMSCs and stromal cells, which are important to cell survival. The results of the organic hair transplantation technique were assessed by patient satisfaction questionnaires. Results: Patients who received the ADMSC-enriched lipograft pre-treatment demonstrated less edema than those who underwent a standard FUE transplantation by the same surgeon but without the pre-treatment. By five days following surgery, edema was completely resolved in all patients. For the study group, micro wounds were healed, and erythema was no longer significant by two weeks after surgery. All patients indicated that they did not experience significant pain after the procedure, though a mild tenderness was noted. Overall, patient satisfaction was high; the treatment decreased progressive hair loss increased pre-existing hair diameter. Discussion: The use of stem cells as a therapeutic has increased substantially, particularly in aesthetics operations, since their regenerative effects were first recognized. We use an aseptic squeezing centrifugation lipotransfer system that removes approximately 30% of aspirate containing unwanted older adipose cells and liquid triglycerides. The result is a product rich in adipose-derived stem cells and interstitial structures. Although several approaches to promote hair growth using ADSCs have evolved, our method is the only Plastic Surgery and Modern Techniques
doi:10.29011/2577-1701.100061 fatcat:vkkdlhq6wneedbagsv4egjzqvi