Are there any differences between PRP and ACell treatments for hair loss PRP and
ACell injection treatments when performed effectively can significantly
increase hair density and coverage in men and women who suffer from genetic
pattern hair loss PRP and ACell treatment are often sought out by people who've
undergone several treatments with PRP or platelet-rich plasma alone without
significant benefit after many sessions oftentimes there are improvements seen
in hair growth after PRP injection but the growth is typically not sustained
beyond the short term in addition a lot of people are looking for an alternative
to surgical hair transplantation as well as ways to improve their results after
recently having hair transplant surgery with PRP and ACell the key ingredients are
spelled out in a generic name and there is often an assumption that the
formulation execution results of PRP and ACell treatment are the same between
doctors in reality results formulations and treatment protocols are not
universal I'll discuss how PRP and a cell treatments differ amongst doctors
and how you can decide which treatment is best suited for your hair loss
condition I'm Dr. Amiya Prasad I'm a
Board-certified cosmetic surgeon and Fellowship-trained oculofacial plastic
and reconstructive surgeon I've been in practice in Manhattan and Long Island
for over 20 years I'm actually one of the original pioneers of PRP and a self
treatment this began when I first used extracellular matrix or ECM by ACell to
improve healing when I performed hair transplant surgery the word a cell is
actually the name of the company that produces the material called
extracellular matrix or ECM extracellular matrix or ECM is an
advanced healing material derived from pig
bladder although this is stem cell technology this material is not made up
of stem cells the extracellular matrix material actually stimulates your body's
own adult stem cells to behave in ways which significantly improves wound
healing I became more experienced with this material and its behavior by using
it for incisions when I performed facelift surgery and other cosmetic and
reconstructive surgical procedures I observed when using this material for
hair transplant surgery that not only did the hair grafts heal better but the
native thinning hair unexpectedly became thicker the hair thickening effect was
observed over one year after surgery I was inspired by this observation to work
on developing optimal concentrations of ACell with PRP in addition to delivery
methods to potentially create a standalone procedure to help men and
women with genetic pattern hair loss without surgery since there was no prior
knowledge in this area I spent years developing and refining the process for
maximal effectiveness with consistent results and very importantly to achieve
the most benefit for the longest period of duration which requires the fewest
number of treatments in spite of many years of skepticism and frequent
dismissal of the concept from many members of the dermatology Plastic
Surgery and hair restoration surgery community the success of our treatment
we call TrichoStem Hair Regeneration as a standalone procedure since I started
in 2011 could not be ignored and has become so well recognized that patients
have been coming to us from around the world for male and female pattern hair
loss treatment the improvement in scalp coverage we see is based on the
reactivation of hair that is present but not growing as well
as thickening of thinning hair our success in changing the way hair loss is
treated has resulted in the same doctors who are skeptics about PRP and ASL to
now offer their own limited single formulation which requires that their
patients come in every month to every three months for scalp injections of PRP
or PRP with a self so if you are experiencing hair loss how do you
determine first of all if PRP or PRP with a cell is appropriate for you and
if it is which method will be most effective for you since the time of
initiating my work of PRP and ACell I looked at specific characteristics and
every patient I treated and look at how they responded to the treatment dosing
and methods which I employed for them I examined every patient and performed
microscopic and high-resolution digital photography every three to six months
for the duration of five years or more based on these observations I recognized
the need to create individualized treatment plants for example a young
male with aggressive hair loss needs a treatment strategy which is different
from a middle-aged woman with slow progressive hair thinning I see many
people who are experiencing hair loss and had gotten treatment in a shotgun
approach regardless of their age gender or degree of hair loss unfortunately
this makes people being treated for hair loss to be frustrated and feel that this
treatment category just doesn't work in our practice we spend a lot of time
looking at our patients we look in depth at medical history as well as hormonal
issues medications and other variables to properly diagnose each patient before
determining if he or she is a candidate for PRP and ACell
or as we refer to our system TrichoStem Hair Regeneration I can attest from
experience that one approach to hair loss treatment cannot be applied to
every patient after I assess a patient and diagnosed them with androgenetic
alopecia or genetic pattern hair loss I provide them a treatment plan for
example if you're a 40 year old male who began to lose hair in your early 30s and
you have a moderate to advanced degree of hair loss you might be a candidate
for a two-year treatment plan during which you would receive two treatments
separated by about 18 months the benefits of two treatments as well as
other therapies would likely result in improvement which would be sustained for
3 to 5 years for most female pattern hair loss patients we have also had
comparable and often longer lasting results I can say that I'm very happy to
see the continued growth and recognition of PRP and ACell as a treatment for hair
loss however I must stress that hair loss is progressive and is managed not
cured in so many ways I see parallels between the marketing of PRP as well as
ACell by doctors with little to no prior hair loss treatment experience
with hair loss management such as having performed hair transplant surgery and
the aggressive marketing of devices for skin tightening or fat reduction which
are being used for people who are not good candidates for these procedures I
see this as a part of an overall trend which I refer to as cosmetic medical
retailing in cosmetic medical retailing the practitioner is more of a sales
person who is not interested in a long-term doctor-patient relationship my
role as a doctor is to first diagnose manage and advocate for the patient's
best interest in cosmetic medical retailing
the patient is more of an opportunity for a one-off transaction with no
concern from the fact in the long-term implications of any
treatment they sell even worse it's common for particularly unethical
medical retail practices to steal before-and-after photos
we are constantly being informed about practices stealing our photos and
misrepresenting these photos as their own I have found that many people who
are trying PRP or ACell plus PRP in clinics where treatments are scheduled
monthly or multiple times per year find themselves stopping after three to four
treatments which is understandable having multiple injections in the scalp
every month to every three months can become pretty irritating more
importantly the question is why do you need so many injection sessions if you
think about it the cost of these injections adds up over time and without
any significant long-term benefit these injection treatments become financially
and logistically unsustainable essentially set up for failure I can
state from having many years of experience with ACell with PRP starting
in 2011 that a proper diagnosis with a customized treatment plan limited to no
more than two treatment sessions provides an expected average duration of
3 to 5 years this appears to be at this time the most effective strategy which
is the basis of our success with TrichoStem Hair Regeneration since 2011
I've been helping men and women from around the world with genetic pattern
hair loss improve their appearance TrichoStem Hair Regeneration is a system
which involves the application of a range of individually customized
formulations delivery methods and treatment plans as a growing number of
doctors start to offer PRP and a cell the challenge is for patients to be able
to make informed decisions about which strategy is suited for their needs I am
open with my patients about my knowledge derived from my experience
developing our system I'm clear with every patient about the reality that
hair loss is genetically hardwired and progressive you should expect during a
consultation for the doctor to answer your question directly and honestly be
wary of claims that sound too good to be true nor should you get vague answers
about what to expect after treatment in my practice I provide every patient with
the treatment plan and a clear schedule of treatments needed to achieve improved
scalp coverage for what is typically three to five years I hope you found
this information helpful thank you for your question