Considering PRP Therapy?
Look no further than Dr. Ken Williams. He is one of the leading authorities in PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma) therapy in California.
What is PRP Therapy?
PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma) hair treatment is a procedure in which a patient’s own blood is used to stimulate hair growth. The plasma, which is rich in platelets, is injected into the scalp in order to stimulate the hair follicles and promote hair growth.
How Can PRP Therapy Help you?
- Natural results: Because PRP treatment uses a patient's own blood, the results are natural-looking and there is no risk of allergic reaction.
- Safe: PRP treatment is generally considered to be safe, with few side effects.
- Effective: Many people who have undergone PRP treatment have reported significant improvements in hair growth and density.
- Long-lasting: The effects of PRP treatment are thought to be long-lasting, with some patients experiencing results for up to two years.
How does PRP work?
Human blood contains mesenchymal stem cells, and autologous blood products that contain essential and specific growth factors that assist in tissue regeneration and healing. Published medical literature from Europe and the United States confirms the safety and use of PRP therapy.
It has been used as a medical adjunct therapy for over two decades for skin and wound healing. PRP therapy has established itself to be effective as a medical treatment modality in the specialty fields of oral surgery, neurosurgery, plastic and cosmetic surgery, sports medicine and orthopedics. It has been used extensively in these specialties for the last twenty years with generally positive outcomes and success.
In the field of hair restoration, evidence supports PRP therapy as a promising treatment option to promote hair growth. No claim can be made of its efficacy. While PRP is in the early stages of scientific research in hair restoration, PRP is not meant to replace current FDA approved therapies such as DHT blockers and Minoxidil. But it is a promising non-surgical therapeutic option for those patients with hair loss.
The science of PRP
PRP contains special cells called Platelets, that can theoretically cause growth of the hair follicles by stimulating the stem cells and other cells in the microenvironment of the hair follicle. These special Platelet cells promote healing, accelerate the rate and degree of tissue healing and regeneration, respond to injury, and formation of new cellular growth. The primary purpose of using PRP in hair restoration is to stimulate inactive or newly implanted hair follicles into an active growth phase.
Inside the Platelets are many intracellular structures such as glycogen, lysosomes and alpha granules. These granules within the PRP contain clotting and growth factors that are eventually released during the healing and repair process.
Does PRP work?
Individual results vary with each patient. No guarantees of success can be made but PRP preliminary studies indicate patients can respond to PRP therapy. Some hair restoration surgeons apply PRP to the scalp for those patients who are not surgical candidates every three (3) to four (4) months. Other protocols will use PRP before or during surgery to ensure graft survivability.
PRP is a potential emerging non-surgical based therapy for natural hair follicle stimulation for thinning hair. Larger clinical studies are pending but the current medical literature contains numerous optimistic results. Although a few controlled studies exist, anecdotal and case reports are the primary sources reflecting success with PRP therapy.
Recent Research on PRP Therapy
Recent scientific research and technology provides the medical community with new understandings of wound and tissue healing. As a result of these scientific studies, we recognize PRP is an all-natural autologous medical procedure performed in physicians’ offices for scalp, skin, and hair stimulation.
While studies are slowly being published in the medical literature on the success of PRP, the hair restoration community remains cautious about making claims for hair restoration using exclusively PRP. In a recent study published in Dermatologic Surgery, physicians in Korea published data supporting the clinical application of PRP in hair restoration.
Will PRP Therapy Help You?
Speak directly with Dr.Williams during your consultation.
How is the PRP procedure performed?
Blood is drawn in our office as though you are having routine blood testing at your primary care physician’s office. The blood is spun in a centrifuge and the PRP is separated and removed from the rest of the blood.
The PRP is taken from your body and is specially prepared by spinning down the blood cells to a high concentration. We use the Emcyte Medical PRP System. It is a closed sterile system and the platelets are concentrated to 5-6 times the normal blood values. The system eliminates granulocytes which hurts tissue regeneration and wound healing. An anesthesia block is given to nerves of the scalp so the patient does not feel any pain.
The highly concentrated High Density Platelet Rich Plasma (HD-PRP) is then injected into the scalp. After the procedure, the patient’s hair is washed and the patient may drive home without any assistance. No sedation or any medication is given during the procedure to inhibit the ability to drive or use machinery.
HD-PRP contains many growth factors that stimulate the hair follicle’s growth.HD- PRP can be used preoperatively, intraoperatively, or post operatively. Some patient’s chose to have PRP performed every three (3) to four (4) months as early data suggests regular or semiannual PRP treatments that may stimulate hair growth.
PRP specific cells that causes hair growth include:
- Platelet-Derived Growth Factor (PDGF)—promotes blood vessel growth, cell replication, skin formation
- Transforming Growth-Factor-Beta (TGF-b)—promotes growth of matrix between cells, bone metabolism
- Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF)—promotes blood vessel formation
- Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF)—promotes cell growth and differentiation, blood vessel formation, collagen formation
- Fibroblast Growth Factor-2 (FGF-2)—promotes growth of specialized cells and blood vessel formation
- Insulin Like Growth Factor – (IGF)—a regulator of normal physiology in nearly every type of cell in the body
Who should not have PRP treatment?
Patients with a history of heavy smoking, drug and alcohol use. Medical diagnosis such as platelet dysfunction syndromes, thrombocytopenias, hypofibrinogenaemia, hemodynamic instability, sepsis, acute and chronic Infections, chronic liver disease, anticoagulation therapy, chronic skin diseases or cancer, metabolic and systemic disorders.
Is PRP for me?
PRP has been used successfully in other medical and surgical disciplines for many years. The decision to use PRP is a personal decision and should be made after careful research, consideration and consultation with a physician. PRP is safe and natural because the procedure concentrates the good cells from your scalp and injects them directly back into the area where it is needed. There is absolutely no chance of getting a blood infection from another human being. PRP involves using your own cells that are not modified or changed, and it will not be rejected by your immune system.
Extensive clinical trials are not complete and medical data is not yet published to establish the absolute effectiveness of PRP therapy in hair restoration. PRP should not be considered a “cure” for hair loss and no guarantee can be made about its individual effectiveness. No claim of PRP efficacy in promoting hair growth can be made because there is no FDA approval that would allow such claims to be made.
Can I use other medical therapies concurrently?
Absolutely. In fact, we encourage it and prescribe PRP therapy as a complement to a nonsurgical approach for those patients who are not eligible for surgery, or who want to delay hair restoration surgery.
As a non-surgical treatment option, we recommend PRP therapy along with Minoxidil and DHT blockers or for those patients who can not tolerate or have side effects with these medications.
Conclusion
PRP therapy offers the opportunity for hair growth for those patients who are not candidates for surgery or those patients wanting a more aggressive nonsurgical approach to treatment. For our surgical patients PRP therapy is performed on the same day as the hair restoration surgery.
Whether you are looking for additional hair stimulation, or are looking to have hair surgery with the addition of PRP, OC Hair Restoration center is able to meet your needs. Results will vary from patient to patient, and PRP as a non-surgical option has not been offered to patients with miniaturization and hair thinning improvement in hair caliber and thickness.
About OC Hair Restoration and PRP Therapy Experience
At Orange County Hair Restoration, we often perform PRP therapy as a proactive therapeutic option for male and female patients experiencing hair loss. PRP is a safe and tolerable non-surgical therapeutic option for patients who require stimulation of hair growth for hair loss conditions.