Recovery of Transplanted Eyebrow From Radiation-Induced Anagen Effluvium

Ablative surgery for skin cancer of the face can often leave patients with significant deformities. These disfigurements can include loss of hair in conspicuous areas such as the eyebrows, leaving the patients with unsightly facial asymmetry. Eyebrow transplantation serves to address this issue; however, it has often been discouraged in patients who are destined to receive radiotherapy to the cutaneous area in question. This is due to the anagen effluvium effect of radiation therapy on hair follicles. We present a case in which the transplanted eyebrow hair follicles survived the deleterious effects of radiotherapy, leaving the patient with a symmetrical and aesthetically satisfactory eyebrow appearance.