Platelet-rich plasma is used in regenerative medicine. It is used in orthopaedics for joint disease and in dermatology for skin and hair rejuvenation. The Belmont Clinic uses a surgical grade centrifuge in preparing your platelet-rich plasma.
In platelet-rich plasma therapy, we use your own blood as a treatment. Blood is divided into 4 main components: plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. An easy way to think of plasma is "the stream in the bloodstream." As if all the other components were rafts, plasma would be the river in which they are transported throughout the entire body. Red blood cells simply carry oxygen to the body's tissues and white blood cells are used to protect the body from infection and clean up debris. Platelets are small fragments of cells, literally little tiny plates. They play a significant role in causing the blood to clot. They also contain what are called growth factors, which help regenerate new tissue.When these platelets become activated, growth factors are released. A medical professional will perform a simple blood draw and transfer it into a platelet concentration system device. A short, simple spin efficiently captures a majority of the platelets into a highly concentrated formula. With this technology, hundreds of thousands of platelets and the growth factors they contain are available to be used.
Platelet-rich plasma is considered investigational by the American Urology Association. Further high-quality studies are required to corroborate the results of the positive randomized control trial. Most trials use 2 doses of platelet-rich plasma approximately one month apart. Each treatment takes approximately one hour.
