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