Scarring alopecia (cicatricial alopecia) affects 7% of patients at hair loss specialty clinics. In this video, Jennifer Krejci, MD shares 3 things you need to know about Cicatricial Alopecia.
There are more than one kind of alopecia. With the recent release of the first oral medication to treat alopecia areata many patients are confused about what alopecia means and how it’s treated. “Alopecia” is simply the medical term for hair loss but hair loss can be genetic, autoimmune, inflammatory, hormonal, or the result of medications or trauma. Sometimes it’s caused by a mixture of things. Before jumping into surgery or expensive treatments, a patient needs to have their scalp and hair properly evaluated and know what kind of alopecia they have.
It is important to find a physician who can correctly diagnose the cause of your hair loss and determine the best treatment. Patients with scarring alopecia are generally not candidates for hair transplantation but only a physician knowledgeable in scalp dermatology can determine the best treatment, medical or surgical.
Dr. Krejci also wrote an article in the ISHRS Hair Transplant Forum titled “Lichen Planopilaris Mimicking Androgenetic Alopecia.” Read the article with various case studies here.