Is there a rationale for the drugs used in hair transplantation surgery?

[BACKGROUND] Various medications may be used before, during, or after hair transplantation surgery (HTS) with the aims of maximizing patient comfort, reducing unwanted side effects, and improving the results of HTS.

[OBJECTIVE] The objectives of this study were to determine the current practice pattern and rationale for drug prescribing by a group of leading hair transplant surgeons and to review the literature for the evidence upon which these prescribing patterns were based.

[METHODS] A postal questionnaire was sent to 16 hair transplant surgeons from the United States and Canada, and the answers were analyzed. The relevant evidence-based literature concerning HTS was reviewed by medicine search.

[RESULTS] Questionnaires suitable for analysis were received from 14 of the surgeons. There were many differences in the pattern of prescribing drugs for the HTS procedure. There was general agreement about the use of local anesthetics but no consensus about the withholding of agents that might increase bleeding; the use of pre- and postoperative analgesics; the use of topical and systemic antibiotics; the use of corticosteroids; or minoxidil. Randomized controlled studies relating to these issues for HTS were not identified in the literature.

[CONCLUSION] A lack of consensus exists about the drugs used in HTS based on a lack of evidence-based medicine.