PRP(Platelet-Rich Plasma)

About 20 cc of blood taken from the patient is placed in special tubes and centrifuged for about 5 minutes. A gel in the tube, which is lighter than red and white blood cells but heavier than platelets, comes between them and separates the platelets from the other cells. The tube also contains certain chemicals to release and activate the growth factors in the platelets. As a result, at the end of centrifugation, about 5-6 cc of plasma (blood fluid) enriched with the growth factors of the platelets at the top of the tube is drawn into syringes and isolated, ready for use.

After PRP is prepared, the growth factors it contains begin to lose their effect within hours. For this reason, the most correct practice is to perform the treatment as soon as possible, right after preparation.

However, after about 100-120 cc of blood is taken from the person at one time and the growth factors in all its platelets are isolated, the growth factors can be subjected to a process called lyophilisation and stored in sterile vials (bottles). As long as they are kept cold, the growth factors in these vials do not lose their effect. This preparation method allows them to be reconstituted with a suitable solvent solution and applied again at later times. In addition, since blood will be taken from the patient only once, the patient does not have to be hurt for each application.

Just as the growth factors transferred to the patient with PRP lose their effect in the tube if the application is delayed, they also rapidly lose their activity in the body within hours after application. However, what matters here is that at the moment they are applied they activate a trigger mechanism and start the regeneration process. Although PRP application starts the regeneration process, repeated applications will make the regeneration process stronger and longer-lasting, so rather than a single application, applications repeated weekly in the first period and then at decreasing frequency will give the best result.

The fluid obtained after the blood taken from the patient has been processed and drawn into syringes can be injected under the skin in small amounts, or it can be applied as droplets into the upper layers of the skin using very fine needles (nappage technique). Recently, treatment can also be performed by creating many holes in the skin with a cylinder-shaped device called a dermaroller, which has many tiny needles on it, and then applying the fluid in the syringe topically onto the skin. This procedure has recently become the most popular method because patients tolerate it very comfortably even without anaesthesia and it allows the solution to be applied more evenly. PRP can also be applied together with the skin-peeling procedures we call dermabrasion, chemical peeling or laser treatments. PRP application is a procedure that takes about 5 minutes and can be performed in the outpatient clinic.

Contrary to the widespread but incorrect usage in the press, PRP treatment is definitely not a stem cell application, nor is it even a cellular therapy. The aim of PRP treatment is to start regeneration by giving plasma enriched with the growth factors in platelets.

• Skin rejuvenation, revitalisation and removal of wrinkles: Studies show that with PRP treatment the collagen structure in the skin that decreases with ageing is renewed and the water content of the skin increases. By contributing to the repair of damaged tissues caused by ageing, it helps achieve a younger appearance. For this purpose, PRP can be applied not only to the face and neck but also to the décolletage area and the backs of the hands, which reveal age during the ageing process.
• Treatment of scars, surgical scars and acne scars: It helps make the scars less noticeable.
• Treatment of hair loss and preservation of healthy hair: PRP alone is an effective treatment for preserving existing hair. In genetic hair loss, when used together with hair transplantation methods, it increases the success of the surgical intervention.
• Stimulation of wound healing: It has healing effects on long-standing atonic wounds that do not heal in the body, on pressure sores that develop due to prolonged pressure, and on leg ulcers caused by vascular disease.
• In fat injections: It can be used simultaneously to increase the survival chance of the fat grafts to be injected in the area where they are applied.

• In people who do not have enough platelets in their blood
• In cancer patients
• In patients using blood-thinning drugs
• In patients with an active infection