Most often, it is seen that almost 85% of men experience thinning hair by the age of 50. In women, the number is around 50%. With the advancement of technology, hair loss can easily be treated using transplant surgeries available. Two of the most common techniques are-
- FUE- Follicular Unit Extraction
- FUT- Follicular Unit Transplantation
Both the procedures follow different approaches. In FUT, a strip of hair from the back of your scalp will be removed, and from that, hair follicles will be extracted. While in FUE, direct follicles are removed from the scalp.
FUE has a modification known as DHT (Direct Hair Transplant) or DHI (Direct Hair Implantation).
There will be incisions made on your scalp during FUE for extraction, and then the follicles will be implanted. The DHT technique for hair transplant involves using a pen-shaped tool specially designed to simultaneously do both extraction and implantation.
What is the procedure for a DHT hair transplant?
Since DHT is a modified technique of FUE, it has a somewhat similar procedure. It will include removing hair follicles by a surgeon from a particular part of your scalp and then transplanting them to the bald area. Now, these hair follicles will grow new hair.
Following steps can be expected-
- Local anaesthesia will be applied for numbing the head once it is shaved.
- Hair follicles from the back of the head will be extracted by a surgeon using a fine tip tool.
- These extracted follicles are loaded into a pen-shaped tool and then implanted into the bald area.
- The surgeon will then apply antibiotic cream and dress the wounds.
Both FUE and DHT take a minimum of 8 hours to complete. The time is also dependent on how many hair follicles need to be transplanted. Complete results can be observed 12-18 months after the surgery.
Who undergoes a DHT transplant?
Commonly known as male or female pattern hair loss, androgenic alopecia is a mostly seen type of hair fall. The people suffering from this are best suited to undergo a hair transplant or DHT hair transplant.
The following factors also decide who can undergo the transplant-
- Age – Hair loss before 25 is very unpredictable, so usually, transplant candidates should be above 25 years of age.
- Donor hair density – Some people might have a hair density of fewer than 40 follicles per square centimetre. It will make them poor candidates for transplant.
- Hair colour – Best results are obtained in people who have light hair or hair colour closer to their skin tone.
- Hair diameter – People who have thick hair density allow each hair follicle to give more coverage, so they see better results rather than people with thin hair density of hair.
- Expectations – People who keep a natural and practical approach to the surgery will be most satisfied with the results obtained.
Get details and reviews from the previous clients they might have had. You can consider visiting Dr Sunil Arora at the ALCS clinic since he is amongst the best doctors who perform DHT hair transplant.
Are there any side effects?
Mostly, hair transplants are safe and don’t have any significant complications. FUE and DHT are less invasive than FUT because FUT will need your surgeon to remove a large strip from your scalp. Many claims say FUE is scarless. But since individual hair follicles are removed, a small series of scars are left behind, which is hardly evident. But still, you might have some of the following side effects-
- Infection
Your donor site or the area where the hair follicles have been implanted are prone to a risk of getting infected. But the severe and worrying infections are rarely seen.
- Negative reaction to the anaesthetic
Application of local anaesthesia is necessary to numb the scalp. Usually, anaesthesia is safe, but in some people, it can cause reactions. Typically, most of the responses are due to anxiety or fear and not because of local anaesthesia.
- Shock Hair loss
Within two months of the surgery, a temporary hair loss at the transplant site can occur, known as shock hair loss. You can see a full recovery in a 3-4-month period.
- Undesired appearance
When a surgeon implants hair follicles, they do so to match the natural hair growth pattern. If this implantation is not done perfectly, you can end up being unsatisfied with your transplant.
As mentioned before, the DHT technique for hair transplant is a modification of FUE. No detailed research on the effectiveness of DHT is published, but FUE, in general, is said to be effective. FUE surgery is of the potential to treat male and female pattern baldness. This makes DHT effective to a specific limit as well.
