I read your last post about PRP but now several well establish hair transplant doctors are now offering the procedure with positive results. In addition, this doesn’t need to be FDA approved because it’s from your body to your body. I actually had this done yesterday. Let’s hope this turns out to be a good thing for hair loss.
There have been various reviews by different doctors on the use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and few of those that used it are convinced that they have seen benefit. This technology has been used for bone grafts, especially by dentists. It drives up the costs of the procedure and proof of safety and effectiveness with regard to hair transplantation is not at hand. Any claims of safety or effectiveness do fall under the purview of the FDA, although the FDA is too busy managing its other problems to become involved in what individual doctors offer and claim with regard to this process. It is a complex process with many variables depending upon the doctor’s style. A patient’s blood must be harvested, separated from the cell portion (red and white cells) and then used in some manner to get it to the transplant.
Some doctors inject it into the scalp, some soak the graft in the PRP before implantation into the body, and the process must be carried out with impeccable sterile techniques (managing this process is not something normally found in a hair transplant practice as these procedures are not done with true sterile technique, but rather clean techniques). Can you imagine an infection that arises in a patient who underwent such a treatment? I know that my malpractice carrier would not approve as they may look at it as human experimentation (falling outside my policy coverage).
I had a patient tell me about his trick with Rogaine Foam — if you keep your hands cold (put them under running cold water for a moment) when applying the foam it doesn’t melt as easily… but I’ve not heard about using the cold as an indicator. I think it is a clever idea, but I do not know the answer.
