Androgenic alopecia is a common type of hair loss in both men and women. This condition can be surgically corrected through a hair transplant, which is an outpatient procedure performed under local anesthesia. A team of researchers from Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School, led by facial plastic surgeon Linda N. Lee, MD, and including facial plastic surgeon Nate Jowett, MD, FRCSC, and otolaryngology resident Nicholas B. Abt, MD, performed the first study of health utility in hair loss before and after hair transplant surgery. Published in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery, this was a prospective clinical study of 308 adults, performed in conjunction with the Harvard Decisions Lab.
Health states of male alopecia, female alopecia, and post-hair transplant state were measured using a visual analog scale, standard gamble, and time trade off. The results of this study found that hair loss has a significant negative impact on health utility in both genders, and that treatment with a hair transplant significantly improves health utility scores.
Mass. Eye and Ear is currently one of the only academic centers in the Northeast to perform and study hair transplantation surgery for androgenic alopecia.