Hair Transplantation Surgery Versus Other Modalities of Treatment in Androgenetic Alopecia: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is the most common type of baldness and its incidence has increased over the past few years with an earlier age of onset being widely reported all over the world. Although it is reported more often in men, it affects women as well. With the growing cosmetic concern of patients, emphasis has shifted from the more traditional treatment options such as finasteride and minoxidil to surgical options such as hair transplantation. This review briefly highlights all of the treatment options available for AGA so far. A special focus is on current data available on hair transplantation surgeries and the various methods, merits and demerits and limitations of surgery. The literature research considered published journal articles (scientific reviews) from 1990 to date. Studies were identified by searching electronic databases (MEDLINE and PubMed) and the reference lists of respective articles. Only articles available in English were considered for this review.

Keywords

• androgenetic alopecia
• treatment
• hair transplantation
• follicular unit extraction