Direct hair implantation, more commonly referred to as “DHI”, is one of the leading methods of hair implantation. It is a form of follicular unit extraction, or “FUE”. But what exactly does DHI entail? What is the difference between a DHI hair transplant and other hair restoration procedures? Read on to find out.
Follicular Unit Transplantation
Follicular unit transplantation (FUT) is second only to FUE when it comes to popularity. For years before the introduction of FUE, it was the primary hair transplantation procedure. It continues to be chosen by men and women alike as a cure for hair loss.
In FUT, strips of hair-bearing skin are removed from a donor site on the patient’s head. It is then essentially sewn onto the patient’s receiver site. The procedure looks just as gruesome as it sounds. Although its results can be effective, FUT leaves noticeable scarring and requires a long time to recover from. It’s only real advantage over FUE treatment is its comparatively low cost.
Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy is often used to treat sports injuries and combat joint pain. It is also a popular method of treating alopecia. Or, at least, attempting to treat alopecia. There is continuing debate about PRP therapy and its effectiveness. You can find more on that here, but for the sake of this article let’s just discuss how PRP therapy allegedly works.
The process begins by extracting blood from the patient. Platelet-rich plasma is isolated and separated from the blood. It is then injected into the patient’s scalp, encouraging hair growth. Many people choose PRP therapy as it is a non-surgical alternative to FUT and FUE treatments. It also has the advantage of a low price tag. One session of PRP therapy costs about $500, meaning it is markedly less expensive than other hair restoration procedures. If you were to travel to Turkey, which has become the primary provider of affordable hair transplantation, you could expect to pay even less.
Direct Hair Implantation
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, direct hair implantation (DHI) is a form of follicular unit extraction (FUE). As such, it follows a very similar pattern to traditional FUE.
DHI begins by individually removing hair follicles from a donor site on the patient’s scalp. Once the necessary number of follicles has been removed, a number of small holes are made in the receiver site. From there, the surgeon uses a tool that is about one-inch in diameter to implant each hair in the corresponding holes. DHI is preferable to other methods of hair transplantation as it requires minimal recovery time and results in barely noticeable scars.
The only major con of DHI is its cost. In some countries, direct hair implantation can cost upwards of $20,000. Of course, if you were to travel to Turkey, like so many thrifty medical tourists do each year, you could secure DHI treatment for much less than that. In some Turkish hair restoration clinics, DHI can be obtained for less than $5000. You can get a personalized quote on a variety of hair transplant procedures by visiting www.veraclinic.net/en.