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by Op. Dr. Evren Tevfik İşçi
Hair transplants are now often performed in a single major session or in numerous sessions over the course of several weeks or months. The major session concludes the procedure of harvesting hair follicles from the donor area behind the patient’s head. Some people, such as those with medical issues, may benefit from more than one session. The majority of the transplanted follicles will grow and produce hair in their new places within 3 to 6 months of planting. Some transplanted follicles fail to grow in their new surroundings.
PRP therapy has grown in popularity as a means of increasing the life of transplanted hair follicles and accelerating healing with minimal scarring following transplantation. There is a wealth of research on the use of PRP to improve tissue repair and recovery after surgery or damage in hair growth following hair transplantation, as well as in many other medical and surgical disciplines.
PRP strengthens and improves the transplanted hair. It improves the survival of new follicles, resulting to new hair growth. PRP injections are also known to aid in the prevention and treatment of hair loss, which is advantageous for the full scalp that has not undergone any transplanting.
Why is PRP done for Hair Transplantation?
The PRP technique can be used throughout the hair transplantation process at several levels:
- Increasing the number of underprivileged donors and non-transplanted areas.
- Increasing the rate of transplanted graft yield.
- Increasing the graft rate throughout the procedure.
- Areas of donor and recipient healing.
In many situations, calcium chloride and thrombin are used to activate PRP, generally before washing the treated region. Growth factors boost the efficiency of freshly planted follicles in this way.
The Benefits of PRP After Hair Transplantation
The advantages of using PRP to promote hair growth and repair after hair transplantation are centered on three functional applications:
- Increasing the viability and protection of hair follicles during and after hair transplantation.
- Enhancing and promoting tissue regeneration and healing following hair transplantation.
- Activating dormant hair follicles and encouraging new hair development
The interval between taking hair follicles from the donor area of the scalp and transplanting them to the recipient area might harm the hair follicles for a variety of reasons:
- Dehydration induced by the donor follicle not being sufficiently moistened between removal and planting
- Absence of oxygen and nutrients as a result of blood withdrawal from its source throughout the harvest-to-planting phase
- Temperature and acid/base balance fluctuations in the follicular environment
At this point, revascularization injuries should be modified according on blood flow while the donor follicle is being moved to the recipient location.
A typical method for preserving the vitality of donor hair follicles throughout the transition phase is to store them in a PRP-containing storage solution. It creates a safe environment by providing warmth, chemical equilibrium, and an appropriate amount of nutrients. Including PRP in this procedure;
- Enhances follicular vitality both during and after transplantation.
- Improves healing time after tissue transplantation
- Hair growth in transplanted follicles is increased.
PRP promotes hair follicle development through the action of platelet-derived growth factors on hair follicle stem cells. Platelet growth factors induce follicular stem cells to transition from a dormant to an active state, therefore initiating the hair development process.
The release of platelet growth factors at the site of tissue injury, which promotes tissue repair and healing, is one of the activities that promote tissue repair and healing following injury and surgery. Surgeons have employed individual growth factors, such as PDGF platelet-derived growth factor, to improve wound healing in surgical patients in hospitals. The purpose for employing PRP in ambulatory hair transplantation is to benefit from platelet-related growth factors:
- speeding up healing,
- Minimizing scarring,
- Maximizing hair development in transplanted follicles
PRP, as is well known, promotes hair growth following transplantation. Platelet growth factors, on the other hand, have the ability to reawaken dormant hair follicles and stimulate the production of new hair. PRP is administered after a mild damage to the scalp to enable platelets to release growth factors at the injury site. Hair growth and a rise in hair diameter are noticed four months after treatment. Injecting a higher concentration of platelets into the scalp after hair transplantation speeds up the healing process and rejuvenates the cells. Many individuals feel that PRP is a safe and efficient approach to reverse hair loss and encourage new hair growth.
