Dear Doc,
I was diagnosed with Lichen Planopilaris over a year ago. I have been getting scalp injections with cortisone shots and taking my pills to stop it from spreading. So far it seems ok. Can I ever get a hair transplant in the future?
Distressed male
Dear Distressed Male,
Lichen Planopilaris is a form of scarring alopecia which means that your body is attacking your hair follicle and replacing it with scar tissue. This disease can be seen only in the scalp or be associated with the form more predominant in the skin (Lichen Planus).
The problem with this disease is that there is no guarantee that it would ever go into remission or be “burnt out”. A hair transplant surgeon may only attempt to do restoration if your disease has been inactive for at least one year off of medication. However, there is no guarantee that the grafts will take. What is even worse is the possibility for the surgery itself to reactivate the disease. This is not uncommon.
I do hope that your disease can be controlled. This is quite a frustrating disease.
