Beard Reconstruction

INTRODUCTION: Loss of beard can occur due to many reasons. As beard has huge cosmetic importance, loss of beard can be psychologically traumatic. Beard can be absent from puberty, called as congenital absence of beard. Beard loss can be secondary to dermatological conditions such as nodulocystic acne. In our setting, the most common cause of loss of beard is burn injury. There are many treatment options such as surgical excision of scar, flaps Z/W plasty, and hair transplantation to reconstruct the beard. We present the follicular unit extraction (FUE) method of beard reconstruction. AIM: The aim of our study was to describe the evaluation of the results using FUE method for beard reconstruction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We did a study in twenty male patients. Any patient having alopecia areata were ruled out of the study. Fifteen patients had postburn loss, three had postacne scarring, and two patients had congenital absence of beard. We evaluated all patients thoroughly by calculating the density of beard over the normal areas of beard, evaluating the elasticity of skin, preoperative photography, and doing dermatoscopy. Areas were marked. FUE was used for harvesting the grafts as a limited number of grafts were needed to complete the surgery. In the recipient area, adrenaline was avoided in patients of scarring alopecia. In cases of congenital absence of hair, 1:200,000 adrenaline was used to minimize bleeding. Grafts were placed. Results were noted after 1 year. RESULTS: All patients followed up properly for 1 year. Growth started 3 months postoperatively and continued till 1 year postoperatively. Density was good in cases with congenital absence of hair. In cases of scarring alopecia, multiple sessions were needed to provide adequate density. Results were graded as “very good,” “good,” and “poor.” Eleven patients had “very good” result, eight had “good,” and one had “poor” result. Nineteen patients were satisfied with the final result, and one patient was dissatisfied with the result. CONCLUSION: FUE is the ideal method of reconstructing beard loss. Proper preoperative evaluation, preparation, planning, and proper surgical technique produce the best possible result.