Difference between FUE Hair Transplant & DHI Hair Transplant
Book an AppointmentThe hair is the most important part of the body which enhances our facial features and our appearance. Most of us have a very emotional attachment to the hair. We spend ample time caring for it, tweaking it in a way that it appears like how we like it to be. Even the smallest of damage to the hair can be worrisome to many. Problems such as hair thinning, hair loss, frizzy hair, dull hair, split ends, dandruff, grey hair and others are issues that at least some of us would have had to deal with. Hair loss or alopecia is a major problem that impacts individuals to a greater level, both physically and emotionally. Some of the reasons for hair loss include heredity, hormonal changes, thyroid-related issues, side-effect to medications or radiation therapies, stress, excessive heat treatment to the hair, vitamin or iron deficiencies and others. Multiple studies in the past have shown that men are over 10% more prone to hair loss as compared to women. Now let’s take a look at the treatment options for baldness and the procedures once could consider for hair restoration.
A dermatologist or cosmetologist who specializes in hair care and treatments would be the right person to help you with this. A host of reasons can be tagged to an individual’s hair loss problems beginning from lifestyle issue to many significant causes such as heredity. Only a professional could help you in analyzing the causes and charting a treatment plan based on the analysis. Hair restoration treatments would be started off from simple things such as changes to one’s lifestyle, medications, laser treatments to more long-term solutions such as hair transplants.
What is a hair transplant?
Hair transplant, as the name suggests, is to transplant or transfer the hair. A surgeon would take hair from a thicker region on your scalp or from other parts of your body and transplant it to the region of the baldness. There are various techniques in hair transplant surgeries. FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) and FUT (Follicular Unit Transplantation) are the most common procedures.
In FUT, a strip of hair from the back of the scalp is taken out and the surgeon will remove each hair follicle and implants it into the balding region. In FUE, hair follicles are directly removed from the scalp and implanted to the bald portion. The FUE technique can be further modified to the DHI (Direct Hair Implantation) technique. In the DHI technique, a pen-shaped tool is used to transplant and implant the hair follicle at the same time.
Let’s take a deeper look at both the FUE and DHI treatment options and how one could choose what is the best treatment for their condition.
FUE hair transplant vs DHI hair transplant
What is FUE Hair transplant?
In the FUE hair transplant procedure, the surgeon/cosmetologist will remove or shave the hair follicles from the donor site and also clean the site where the surgery is to be performed. A micro punch tool is used to remove the follicles and then the surgeon would make small incisions with a needle to insert the follicles. Once all the hair follicles are transplanted, the area is cleaned and covered for recovery. FUE is most commonly performed on the scalp, while it can be performed on other regions such as the leg, arms and others. FUE is often done as multiple sessions, usually 2 to 4 in a duration of several weeks. It is an outpatient procedure which requires the patient to follow post-procedural care appropriately.
What is DHI Hair transplant?
In the DHI hair transplant procedure, the surgeon will shave the site of the transplant. After the administration of local anaesthesia, hair follicles will be removed using a tool with a tip. Once the follicle is removed, it is loaded into a pen-shaped device called the DHI Choi Pen that implants the follicle in the bald region. After completion of the procedure, the site is covered for recovery. An antibiotic cream will be applied before the bandaging. The DHI hair transplant technique would also require patients to get the treatment in two or more sessions for the completion of the treatment.
What are the pre-procedural and post-procedural care required for the treatments?
For both the DHI and FUE hair transplant, patients must follow similar before and after treatment care.
Pre-procedural care:
Patients must avoid alcohol, smoking, blood thinners, vitamin supplements, antidepressants and other medications for the duration before surgery as suggested by the surgeon. Regular head massage for around 30 minutes for at least a week before the surgery is highly recommended to increase the blood flow to the region. Patients must avoid alcohol, smoking, blood thinners, vitamin supplements, antidepressants and other medications for the duration before surgery as suggested by the surgeon.
Post-procedural care:
The patient would be advised not to shower or brush the hair for a short duration. No hats and other accessories must be used until full recovery and no strenuous exercise must be performed. Proper medication and light exercises must be followed.
What are the treatment costs for both FUE and DHI?
The cost of the treatments is very much dependent on the extent of baldness and the number of grafts that are required to be transplanted.
For the FUE hair transplant procedure, for around 2200 grafts, the price could be between INR 35K to 50K.
The DHI hair transplant in India would cost anywhere between INR40K to over 2 lakhs. The DHI hair transplant cost in Chennai could be INR 30k and upwards up to INR 1.5 – 2 lakhs.
What are the results that a patient can expect with the FUE and DHI hair transplant procedure?
Post the FUE hair transplant, patients would start noticing remarkable growth in hair by the 2nd and 3rd month post hair transplant. By around 5-6 months, there would be a substantial difference with good hair growth.
Post the DHI transplant, the patient would see noticeable hair growth in around 4 months and there will be a substantial difference by 6 months’ post-transplant. In some patients’ results could be seen only around 12 months.
What are the pros and cons of the FUE and DHI hair transplant?
In the FUE hair transplant procedure, the most common side-effect is that there could be scarring at the place where the hair is extracted while in the DHI hair transplant procedure there is no scarring but only white spots that are negligibly noticeable. The DHI tool/Choi pen is advanced to measure and control the depth and angle of the implanted hair, this, in turn, ensures that the hair grows back like normal hair. There are also no stitches required with the DHI procedure. Because of these advanced features, the DHI hair transplant procedure shows better success rates since the procedure helps each follicle transplanted to survive and grow.
When it comes to the DHI hair transplant, an important con is that the procedure requires more time as compared to FUE or FUT hair transplant. To transplant an X number of graft, the DHI procedure would take close to 2X the time taken by FUE. This means that the patient would be required to come for two or more sessions to complete the entire procedure.
The DHI hair transplant is the most expensive because of the use of advanced tools and techniques in the process. It could cost at least 2 times more than an FUE treatment. However, success rates are higher for the procedure which is why patients choose to go ahead with the DHI hair transplant.
The DHI hair transplant also requires an extremely skilled and experienced surgeon with specialized training in DHI. The procedure should be done with great care since it extraction and implantation needs to be precise. At times more than one medical professional might be required for the procedure, with each one assisting a specific task and region of treatment.
In the DHI hair transplant procedure, local anaesthesia is administered for the procedure. The possible side effects of the DHI hair transplant technique would include reaction to anaesthesia, bleeding, dizziness, pain, and infection. Hence, it is really important to know if the surgeon is highly qualified and experienced with the DHI hair transplant technique.
Who should go for the DHI hair transplant procedure?
The DHI hair transplant would be the right treatment for patients with an advanced stage of hair loss. Also, patients who have not responded well with other treatments can see good results with DHI. Individuals who are on certain types of blood thinner medications would not be able to go ahead with the DHI procedure and should consult their doctor for success with FUE or FUT (Follicular Unit Transplantation) hair transplant techniques.
Is the DHI hair transplant better than the FUI hair transplant procedure?
Each procedure has its pros and cons. Like we have discussed so far, the DHI procedure is better since it comes with a higher success rate, less scarring for the patients and the use of latest and most advanced techniques. However, it requires double the time as compared to FUE and would cost a lot more than the other forms of hair transplant treatment. Moreover, an individual’s health history and medications are also a deciding factor when it comes to zeroing down on the DHI hair transplant and other treatments.
It is best to consult a qualified surgeon or cosmetologist to decide on a treatment that would work best for you depending on the extent of baldness and medical conditions. You can take an informed decision on the treatment that will work for your needs and there is no one treatment that works well for all. Hence, all treatments whether DHI or FUE hair transplant must be understood taking into account all the pros and cons and the most apt treatment must be chosen.
