Platelet Rich Plasma

Platelet Rich Plasma

We are getting more calls these days from patients looking for the best place in Los Angeles to have PRP injections for hair restoration. PRP or Platelet Rich Plasma is plasma that has been extracted for the blood. The plasma is rich with growth factors, or platelets (hence the name). Platelets are essential in soft and hard tissue repair. The PRP injection process is done by taking the patient’s blood and spinning it in a centrifuge. This causes the blood to separate. The growth factor rich plasma is extracted and injected into an area of the body that could benefit from addition growth factors that assist in healing.

There have been several studies and there is much debate over the effectiveness of PRP injections. It has been used to improve function and decrease pain in shoulders, hip, knee, elbow, wrist, ankle, and other soft tissue injury areas. Platelet cells are the body’s first response to injury. The injections of PRP can give this natural process a boost. Because it is the patient’s own blood, there is very little chance that the patient will have an adverse reaction.

In hair restoration, PRP is injected into thinning areas with the hopes that it will reverse miniaturization. It should be added that our PRP injections are mixed with Acell, an FDA approved wound healer (for more info. on Acell see acell.com). We have found that for that purpose (reversing miniaturization) PRP injections do not work as well as finasteride, monoxidil, or laser therapy.

Some believe that PRP injections at the time of transplant will accelerate growth. We have found that Dr. Shapiro’s Help Hair Shake and vitamins work better to accelerate growth. Our patients who consume the shake and vitamins consistently have a year’s growth in four months.

Platelet Rich Plasma injections, for us, have been very effective for rapid shedding. When we say rapid shedding we mean 500 hairs a day or more. Most patients aren’t aware that losing up to one hundred hairs a day could be normal. As hair goes through its’ natural cycle, some shedding is expected. However, patients having more than one hundred hairs a day should investigate the cause and seek a remedy. The patients with rapid shedding who we have treated with Acell/PRP injections have had great success. The shedding has stopped in every single case. Usually once the shedding stops the patient can pursue another therapy or hair transplant to thicken their hair.

Though it is not magic or a cure-all, we do feel that platelet rich plasma has its’ place in hair restoration. Based on our experience, we feel that platelet rich plasma best serves the patient that is experiencing rapid shedding. All other hair loss, we believe, should be addressed with either hair transplant, laser therapy, topical solutions, or medication.

For a free consultation with Dr. Sean Behnam, please call 310-315-4989.

 

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