Slit grafting: the use of serrated island grafts in male and female-pattern alopecia.

Successful aesthetic treatment of earlier thinning of scalp hair in men and women has necessitated the development of alternatives to traditional punch grafting. The hair-bearing "serrated island" remaining between two parallel rows of round donor sites can be removed and dissected to yield a large number of "serrated island grafts" and single-hair grafts. These miniature grafts, along with half grafts from bisected plugs, can be placed, in one or several sessions, into dozens to hundreds of small "slits" between the remaining hairs in patients with early or advanced thinning on the crown, vertex, or anterior scalp--hence the name "slit grafting." The versatility of this technique is demonstrated by its value for patients with dark hair and light skin, in repair work, in patients necessitating extensive vertex coverage, or in combination with alopecia reduction and traditional punch grafting. The finely tufted progressive growth from hundreds of these carefully placed slit grafts can thus counteract further hair loss in a variety of different situations.