The use of Botulism Toxin (Botox) in the treatment of
wide donor scars from hair transplants
| Courtesy of Dr. Robert Jones Wide donor scars
from previous transplants are a problem all hair restoration
surgeons have to deal with. Often, attempts at scar reduction fail,
as the scar stretches back to the original wide state over the
course of six months.
After reading an article on the use of Botulism toxin to improve
facial wound healing, Dr Jones decided to try using Botulism toxin
to reduce the tension across a tight closure after a scar reduction
procedure.
The patient chosen had a previous unsuccessful scar reduction about
18 months prior to this procedure. The scar was 1.3 cm prior to the
reduction and stretched back to 1.3 cm within 6 months. The first
photos are of the scar prior to the second revision. Dr Jones
repeated the scar reduction, this time injecting 60 U of botulism
toxin into the left side of the incision and the same volume of .9 %
normal saline into the right side of the incision at the time the
stitches were removed. (Dr Jones is familiar with the use of Botox
for other indications.)
After six months, the scar was measured at 1 cm intervals and the
average value was taken for each side of the scar. The average scar
width for the side treated with botulism toxin was .3 mm, while the
side treated with normal saline had an average width of 1.1 cm.
Although the patient was unaware which side was treated with Botox,
he came into the office at 6 months well aware of which side was
treated as the scar was much less visible on the left hand side.
In the patient, it appears that the botulism toxin has allowed the
incision to heal with less tension and avoid stretch back that we
commonly see. Further study is needed to explore the use of botulism
toxin in the treatment and prevention of wide scars in reductions as
well as all tight closures after hair restoration surgery.
|
Visible donor scar
form a previous hair transplant
Visible donor scar
form a previous hair transplant
10 days post op
|
|
LEFT SIDE: WITH BOTOX 6 month later
Notice that this side with the Botox injection is less visible.
 |
RIGHT SIDE: WITHOUT BOTOX 6 months later.
Notice that the scar has stretch back to its original state.
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