The First Injection
Most of the patients are more anxious during their first injection. If the first injection causes pain to them then they will be more and more anxious for forthcoming injections. Thus at DHT Clinic we try and make the first injection and all other following injections simpler and almost painless for the patient in the following manner:
Concomitant Physical Stimulation
Just recall, when our finger gets burn we unconsciously and immediately shake it, in a fierce manner. We do this because in this manner we try to reduce our pain by shaking or vibrating the affected area. Similarly in order to reduce pain during hair transplantation surgery, we use vibrators to shake the affected area in order to reduce the pain. In order to diminish the perception of painful stimuli touch, pressure and vibrations are used during the surgery. This helps to distract the patient and minimize his pain.
Cooling
In ancient ages icing was used to achieve numbness of any aching body part. The hypoesthesia achieved by this cold induced numbness temporarily blocks the pain perceiving receptors. We use sterile cold packs, ice boxes and doctor ice to make the injection sites numb, so that pain during prick is almost nil.
Reducing the Needle Caliber
Small caliber needles causes less pain then large ones. This potential of small caliber needles is utilized only when the rate of injection is slowed. We use 31 gauge, the thinnest possible needle in the world. It is also known as insulin syringe. With help of this insulin syringe, and slow rate of injection, the pain is minimized almost to zero.
Rate of Injection
Rate of injection also plays a major role in reducing the pain. If one reduces the rate of administration of local anesthetics, then the pain can also be reduced. We inject the anesthetic solution at extremely slow rate which cause slow tissue expansion and thus very less pain.
Depth of Injection
While injecting the local anesthetic and the tumescent solution we are extremely careful about the depth or the PLANE of injection. If we prick beyond mid dermis level then the pain perception will be more as the receptors for the same are located at that level. So we keep the tip of the hypodermic needle in the PLANE above mid dermis. In addition to alleviating pain, this move also enhances the blanching effect of the tumescent anesthesia.
The OT & Surgery Environment
The OT and surgery environment also has a significant impact on the pain’s experience. We at DHT Clinic play soothing music and involve you in rich conversations with the doctors, keeping your areas of interest as priority.
