Platelet Rich Plasma utilizes the body’s natural healing process. PRP is a concentration of platelets that are injected into the body to promote tissue repair and accelerate healing. Platelets are rich in growth and healing factors. PRP was made popular by professional athletes through its treatment of season-ending symptoms including swelling, stiffness, inflammation, tenderness and pain. From there PRP has morphed into aesthetic practices.
PRP when injected into specific areas of the skin, act as a matrix that promotes your own collagen to grow, regenerate tissue, and thus acts to naturally smooth and tighten the skin. PRP is gaining in popularity for the same reasons athletes chose it because of the organic nature and because it works.
PRP therapies are now used in procedures such as: hair restoration, facials/facelifts, breast enhancement, O Shot, and the P Shot among others. Platelet rich plasma literally stimulates new cell growth wherever it is injected. It helps the body heal itself the natural way without using chemicals or foreign substances of any kind, reducing the possibility of an allergic reaction or infection is almost nil because the plasma comes from the patient’s own body.
PRP effects are lasting. Women who have used PRP for facelift treatment found that their faces look better several months after the treatments. This is because the plasma stimulates their skin’s stem cells to produce more collagen, grow new cells and literally rejuvenate the skin. This new cell growth can take weeks to months, which is why it looks better over time. Botox and other filler treatments break down over time, but the PRP lasts and looks better as long as 18 months to 2 years.
PRP can be combined with other therapies to enhance its effects, i.e. microneedling. PRP contains molecules and proteins that provide nutrients to the skin’s cells, so it is the healthiest, most natural way to improve the appearance of wrinkles, scars, and other effects of aging.
What can PRP do for you?
Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) is a substance that is thought to promote healing when injected into areas of the body. PRP is obtained by isolating plasma from blood and concentrating it. Injecting PRP into damaged tissue will stimulate your body to grow new, healthy cells and promote healing.
PRP injections have been used in multiple applications:
• Hair loss – PRP injected into the scalp promotes hair growth and prevents hair loss
• Tendon injuries – PRP injections have been used to treat chronic tendon problems
• Acute injuries – PRP injections have been used to treat acute sports injuries such pulled muscles or strains
• Postsurgical repair – Some doctors use PRP after surgery to repair tendons or ligaments
• Osteoarthritis – PRP injections into the knee are more effective than hyaluronic acid injections for treating osteoarthritis.
• Facials/Facelifts – PRP is injected into areas of the face to reduce wrinkles and to add volume to areas of the face affected by age and gravity
• O Shot – PRP is injected into the vaginal wall and clitoris to alleviate stress incontinence, vaginal dryness and sexual dysfunction.
• P Shot – PRP is injected into the penis to rejuvenate the penis and stimulate new tissue growth, resulting in improved erections that are larger, firmer and stronger erections
PRP bathes troubled cells in a concentrated mixture of platelets from your own blood. PRP therapy can be analogous to farmer’s seeds vs fertilizer. It is like adding fertilizer to assist in the growth process. The cells are already there but PRP stimulates growth.
PRP is what we are labeling “liquid gold”. It is an amazing autogulous treatment that will naturally allow your body to regenerate and rejuvenate skin health on a cellular level.
Platelet Rich Plasma Injections
Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) is a proven procedure with good predictability to reduce appearance of:
• Sagging or dropping face – a sign of aging related to volume loss
• Dark circle or tired looking eyes
• Wrinkles and sagging jowls along the mouth and jawline
• Nasolabial folds or “laugh lines” on the corners of the mouth.
These areas improve with the injection of autologous PRP intradermally or subdermally below the affected areas. By mixing the PRP with calcium chloride, we are actually injecting a Platelet Rich Fibrin Matrix (PRFM). This delivers more viable, under-granulated growth-factor-loaded platelets. Combining PRFM with plasma filler gives a softer, more flexible outlook compared to the rigid puffy structure obtained through synthetic fibers.
I have done this around my lips with success. I have more fullness again and the static wrinkles which I dislike so much are softened. PRP improves over time so the area will continue to improve over the next few weeks.
PRP Effectiveness
Effective PRP provides a low risk options for many challenging conditions. Platelet Rich Plasma(PRP) is a concentration of platelets which provide platelet levels above the peripheral blood concentrations. The method used to obtain the concentration varies with the difference in kits. PRP is more effective if the concentration is pure. PRP should have low concentration of RBCs, low viscosity, perfect blend of WBCs, and a high amount of deliverable platelets. Adhering to well-founded protocols and choosing the right PRP kit will significantly improve outcomes.
To truly concentrate platelets, one must use a double spin centrifugation technique. The first spin with separate the blood from the plasma. The second spin finely separates the platelets and white blood cells together with a few red blood cells from the plasma. Dual centrifugation allows more time for the platelets to fall out of suspension for the plasma and creates a finer separation.
Because growth factors stimulate cellular proliferation, some feel that the PRP might stimulate cancer. No growth factor can provoke a cancer, as they act on the cell membranes not the cell nucleus. PRP promotes a normal gene expression, not an abnormal gene expression. Growth factors are not mutagens.
PRP is plasma with more platelets than what is typically found in blood. I use a kit that has been shown to produce 9.5 billion platelets in 7 ml sample of plasma. The concentrated platelets contain huge reservoirs of bioactive proteins and growth factors that are vital to initiate and accelerate tissue repair and regeneration.
When developing PRP, the kit also provides us with Platelet Poor Plasma (PPP). While this plasma contains few, if any growth factors, we can heat the plasma, which thickens it and use it in the place of hyaluronic fillers. This is referred to as biofillers. They can be injected in the face, neck breasts and butt to correct lack of volume, wrinkles, deep folds, unaesthetic lines and unusual thinness.
Platelet products are known to facilitate angiogenesis, hemostasis, osteogenesis and bone growth. PRP is shunned by insurance companies and no medical lobbying is active in trying to increase its awareness. PRP’s success is attributed to it fundamental healing property. PRP treatments are one of the most in demand treatments available in healthcare despite the neglect by healthcare professionals.