Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) was initially used with wound healing in a number of clinical specialties and surgical procedures. The utility of PRP in skin rejuvenation has caused huge interest in the field of aesthetics and skin care, used with the potential ability of promoting healing, augment tissue and promote stem cell growth, and has thus been widely investigated.
PRP & Microneedling The efficacy and safety of platelet- rich plasma (PRP) combined with micro-needling for the treatment of atrophic acne scars has been widely documented. A previous study documented: Micro-needling performed on both halves of the face, Intradermal injections as well as topical application of PRP, given on right half of the face, while the left half of the face was treated with intradermal administration of distilled water.
The authors were able to demonstrate that the PRP-treated side showed a greater reduction in acne scarring by Goodman’s quantitative scale, and considerably improved outcomes; they concluded that micro-needling with PRP enhanced final clinical outcomes compared to micro-needling alone. Non-Ablational Fractional Laser & PRP Shin et al treated Twenty-two Korean women with three sessions of fractional laser; 11 were treated with topical application of PRP combined with fractional laser. Evaluations were done at base- line and 1 month after the final treatment. Patients receiving PRP combined with fractional laser displayed increased subject satisfaction and skin elasticity and decreased the erythema index. PRP increased the length of the dermoepidermal junction, the amount of collagen, and the number of fibroblasts. Ablative Photothermolysis & PRP Kim and Gallo , in looking to determine whether PRP would be an effective adjunctive treatment to fractional carbon dioxide resurfacing, and reduce healing time and duration of adverse effects, performed a Prospective blinded study of male and female patients 18 years or older and with Fitzpatrick skin types I to IV performed at Miami Institute for Age Management and Intervention. Significant improvement in post treatment erythema was observed in PRP-treated subjects across 94 comparisons in 15 patients. Improvement was defined as the erythema rating of the untreated arm minus the erythema rating of the PRP-treated arm. A mean improvement in edema was also significant across 94 comparisons. The preliminary results suggest that PRP can objectively reduce erythema and edema following carbon dioxide fractional laser treatment. Most importantly, patients themselves have noticed a reduction in the common post-treatment effects: erythema, edema, pruritus, and discomfort. Sand Jordan P et al, “Platelet-Rich Plasma for the Aesthetic Surgeon” Facial Plast Surg, 2017:33; 437-443
Asif M, Kanodia S, Singh K. Combined autologous platelet-rich plasma with micro-needling verses micro-needling with distilled water in the treatment of atrophic acne scars: a concurrent split- face study. J Cosmet Dermatol 2016; 15(04): 434–443
Shin MK, Lee JH, Lee SJ, Kim NI. Platelet-rich plasma combined with fractional laser therapy for skin rejuvenation. Dermatol Surg 2012; 38(04): 623–630
Find out more:
Kim H, Gallo J. Evaluation of the effect of platelet-rich plasma on recovery after ablative fractional photothermolysis. JAMA Facial Plast Surg 2015; 17(02): 97–102