Diabetes - Hair Transplant for Diabetic Patients

Hair Transplant for People with Diabetes

Diabetes is fast becoming the biggest epidemic of the 21st century. Lately, the topic of doing hair transplants on people with diabetes has become a recurring subject in our forum.

Is it safe to perform hair transplant for people with diabetes? What are some of the things diabetic patients should be aware of when making a decision about hair transplant?

Hair Transplant: Type I vs Type II Diabetic Patient

Type I diabetic has insulin dependancy. These patients rely on daily insulin injection that infuses the proper amount of insulin to control blood sugar/glucose. It is harder for Type I patients to control their glucose/blood sugar. They tend to have problems with healing especially when the surface of the skin or scalp is compromised.

Type II diabetic controls their glucose/blood sugar without the need for insulin. They do that mainly with medications or lifestyle changes such as exercise or diet.

When it comes to hair transplant for diabetic patients, there is really no consensus as to what clinics should or should not do. Every clinic seems to have its own policy in dealing with hair transplants for people with diabetes.

Here we discuss how one clinic manages the pre-operative, intra-operative, and post operative protocols when performing hair transplants for diabetic patients. Please consider this as general information only and does not consitute medical advice by any means. As always, consult your doctor before making a decision.

Hair Transplant - Diabetic Patient - Pre-operative Protocol

1. Donor laxity.  A diabetic patient should perform stretching exercises for a strip excision. The strip excision width should be extracted very conservatively so that the surrounding tissues will not be compromised in terms of blood circulation and to also decrease a chance of infection or necrosis. In FUE, donor laxity is less of a concern.
2. A relatively good control and close monitoring by the patient of their sugar/blood glucose/insulin levels before surgery for an extended period of time.
3. Manage the patient's expectation properly; advise diabetic patients about the possibility of below average hair transplant yield from the procedure.
4. Check the sugar/blood glucose to see if the sugar/blood glucose is within a normal range before the surgery. Postpone the surgery if necessary.

Hair Transplant - Diabetic Patient - Intra-operative Protocol

1. The blood gucose/sugar levels must be monitored continuously throughout the surgery. Insulin is adjusted accordingly if necessary for Type I patients.
2. Medications that would cause a problem with diabetic patients are withheld. Steroids such as prednisone, etc are not prescribed.

Hair Transplant - Diabetic Patient - Post-operative Protocol

1. Advise the patient to continue to monitor his blood glucose/sugar closely and make the necessary insulin adjustments if necessary.
2. Advise patient to monitor signs of impaired healing, infection, fever, etc… And if anything seems abnormal then they must call the hair transplant doctor or his primary care physician immediately or even check in to the hospital for immediate care.

Safe Hair Transplant for People with Diabetes?

Hair transplant is a surgical procedure. There is no such thing as a safe transplant for diabetic patients. All surgical procedure carries risks. Hair transplant is not a medical necessity. When in doubt, it is best not to proceed with the hair transplant procedure. If you insist on getting a hair transplant procedure, consider a procedure with as few grafts as possible to minimize the possibility of complications. It is also very important to have consultations with as many doctors as possible before making a decision. You will be surprised how doctors opinion on the subject can vary greatly.

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