Platelet rich plasma (PRP)

Aesthetic treatments with platelet rich plasma (PRP) have become one of the most chosen alternatives within the wide range of options offered by beauty centers in terms of tissue regeneration. This is due to a combination of cost and result, which positions it as an accessible and effective treatment.

However, many medical associations around the world require that platelet-rich plasma treatments be regulated and controlled as this is a treatment whose effects have not yet been tested.

Treatments with platelet-rich plasma require patient blood sampling and plasma extraction, which contains up to 5 times the concentration of platelets. Subsequently, a centrifugation process is carried out and specific substances are incorporated to inject the plasma rich in platelets in the face, neck or neckline.

Currently, treatments with platelet-rich plasma are experimental and require regulation and control. In addition, it is essential that building, environmental and physical and biological safety conditions are established in order to be carried out, bearing in mind that these are processes with human cells and blood products.

For their part, members of the National Blood Program emphasize that treatments with platelet-rich plasma are not authorized and do not have scientific evidence to support their effects. That is why they explain that they should only be applied in medical research protocols, with the approval of the ethics committee of the institution where they are performed and with the consent of the patient. Most importantly, at no cost (currently up to $4000 per application).

It is important to remind patients that the doctors who carry out these treatments apply them under their responsibility and that many of the professionals who offer these treatments are foreign to the specialty and in some cases they are even technical personnel without the supervision of hemotherapy specialists.

Osteoarthritis is a highly prevalent disease, being an important reason for consultation at both the primary and specialist levels. The persistence of symptoms despite non-surgical treatment, mainly pain, motivates patients to reconsult frequently, usually in search of non-surgical alternatives for the treatment of this disease.

• Intra-articular injection of platelet-rich plasma may slightly decrease joint pain and it is unclear whether it improves knee function because the evidence is very low.
• Intra-articular injection of platelet-rich plasma probably improves patient satisfaction.
• Most patients probably have no adverse effects and if they do, these are non-severe and self-limiting.