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Comparison of a Novel Wound Dressing Versus Current Clinical Practice After Follicular Unit Extraction Hair Transplantation
Isaac B. James, MD; David M. Turer, MD, MS; Barry E. DiBernardo, MD;
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
2020-01-30
Presenter: Isaac James
Affidavit:
The residents were involved in data interpretation and writing the abstract.
Director Name: Vu Nguyen
Author Category: Resident Plastic Surgery
Presentation Category: Clinical
Abstract Category: General Reconstruction
Background: Follicular unit extraction (FUE) hair transplantation subjects are excellent candidates to assess wound dressings. The wound surface area is large and adequately delineated to allow treatments to be randomized, while in-patient split scalp designs allow patients to serve as their own controls. We present a randomized, single-blinded, split-scalp comparison trial. Specifically, a novel film forming silicone gel, Stratamed, was compared to Bacitracin in patients undergoing FUE.
Methods: Twenty patients were randomized to receive Stratamed to one half of the scalp and Bactricin to the other half. Primary outcome measures included blinded clinician assessments of edema, erythema, crusting, healing response and outcome preference. Secondary measures included patient-reported assessments of pain and pruritis as well as FaceQ scores taken at days two through to six post FUE.
Results: Twenty patients were enrolled. Nineteen completed the trial. All patients were non-smokers, and none had medical comorbidities expected to impact wound healing. An average of 1778 follicles per patient were harvested. No adverse events were reported, and all patients healed by day 7. Healing response and outcome preference were significantly higher at day 1 in the Stratamed group and by day 7, both groups were similar. There were no significant differences between groups for edema, erythema, or crusting. There were no significant differences between groups for patient-reported outcomes of pain, pruritis, or FaceQ scores.
Conclusions: The Stratamed wound dressing was well-tolerated in patients undergoing FUE. Stratamed may speed the healing response in the early phase of wound healing.
