The aim is to study the morphological changes in transplanted hair follicles to determine the effectiveness of the FUE method under conditions of ischemic and scar tissue.

Materials and methods. The study included 10 patients diagnosed with cicatricial post-traumatic alopecia or alopecia resulting from reconstructive surgical procedures. All patients underwent hair transplantation using the follicular unit extraction (FUE) technique combined with direct hair implantation (DHI). The structural characteristics of the hair follicle and hair bulb, as well as the degree of vascularization of the transplanted follicular units (grafts), were examined. The obtained results were compared with data from healthy hair follicles, serving as controls.

Results. Microscopic examination revealed that the transplanted grafts maintained their structural integrity and demonstrated successful engraftment at the recipient sites, indicating a high level of follicular adaptation within the altered (ischemic or scarred) tissues. During clinical assessment, patients reported excellent (80 %) and good (20 %) results. The degree of engraftment was on average 90 % of the transplanted number of grafts. Thus, when all the rules of the DHI hair transplant technique were followed, we did not observe an increased risk of hair follicle loss due to their damage.

Conclusions. Hair transplantation after extraction can be successfully used to restore the hair cover, to mask incisions on the scalp or to restore the anterior hairline. FUE hair transplantation with DHI implantation can be considered the safest and most promising method for preserving the viability of hair follicles, especially in conditions of ischemic scar tissue.