Cosmetic Surgery and Beauty Magazine #66

industry
aesthetics; and with stem cell enhancement in treating
tissue defects.’
There were also discussions about improving the
accessibility of regenerative medicine to consumers. New
technologies have seen refinements and advancement
in regenerative technologies, and this has led to a more
streamlined and affordable delivery to patients.
‘PRP and stem cell procedures are now spanning into
fertility and sexual medicine which are truly exciting fields,’
explains Adelaide cosmetic surgeon Dr Robin Chok.
‘Regen Lab PRP kits have allowed stem cell-like treatment
to be delivered at a fraction of the cost and easily prepared
on a daily basis in any clinical environment.’
Autologous Platelet-Rich-Plasma
Autologous platelet-rich plasma is a concentration of human
platelets in a small volume of plasma. These platelets are
taken from a sample of the patient’s own blood and act
as vehicles to deliver growth factors and promote healing
in hard and soft tissue. Simply put, the growth factors in
PRP communicate with the body’s own stem cells and
fibroblasts to kick-start the natural regeneration process –
boosting healing time and optimising tissue recovery.
PRP has a history of use in orthopaedics, sports
medicine, wound healing, neurosurgery, dentistry and
ophthalmology, as well as more recently in cosmetic,
plastic, maxillofacial and cardiothoracic surgery.
Companies like Regen Lab have helped introduce PRP
to the cosmetic enhancement arena. By harnessing the
healing properties of platelets, and reinjecting PRP in areas
of the body and face, it’s possible to achieve an organic yet
effective aesthetic enhancement.
‘As a purely cosmetic clinic we are mainly focused on
treating skin texture and condition with PRP,’ explains
cosmetic practitioner Dr Catherine Stone from Auckland,
New Zealand. ‘Fine crepey skin seems to respond the best
to PRP, resulting in thickening, smoothing and increased
luminosity of the skin. PRP is our treatment of choice for
the fine fragile skin around the eyes, and is one of the few
treatments that we can use to improve the skin of the upper
eyelid without resorting to surgery.
‘Finely wrinkled skin on the neck, chest, hands and
underarms also responds well to PRP treatments, while
almost any skin will respond by becoming thicker, healthier
and more luminous.’
Because of it’s healing capabilities, PRP can also be
used in conjunction with cosmetic surgery to optimise
recovery following the procedure.
‘PRP infuses healing tissue with a powerful haemostatic
and growth factor cascade,’ Dr Feiner explains. ‘So any
surgery region where a tissue has been cut, lasered or
dissected will heal more expediently, with less bruising and
pain. PRP also exerts an antibiotic effect so infection risk
is diminished.’
What’s new in PRP?
The use of PRP, and the ways it can be applied, is ever
evolving with the emergence of new research and
technologies. This year’s BioBridge conference revealed
some new ideas to increase the longevity of PRP results.
‘Until recently, platelet activators were used to “activate”
PRP during injection, stimulating the release of more growth
factors to “increase the platelet signal” to stem cells and
fibroblasts to repair the treated area,’ Dr Stone explains. ‘At
BioBridge 2013, we learned that whilst the activators trigger
massive growth factor release in the short term, they stress
the platelets to the degree that they die very quickly in the
first few days. Studies show that not activating the platelets
results in a slower, longer release of growth factors, which
give a better long-term result.’
Growth factors in PRP
communicate with the body’s
own stem cells to kick-start the
natural regeneration process
As well as ways to extend and improve PRP results,
the BioBridge conference also explored the use of PRP
alongside fat transfers in aesthetic procedures. ‘PRP is the
perfect nourishing environment for fat cell transfer,’ says Dr
Chok. ‘It’s also an ideal maintenance procedure after fat
transfer or facelift surgery to the face and neck.’
As doctors, scientists and researchers departed from
Italy with a fresh perspective and deeper insight into the
workings of regenerative medicine, we can look forward
to another year of advancements and new possibilities in
harnessing the body’s own incredible healing powers.
‘Like any good conference, a symposium such as
BioBridge creates an environment of knowledge-sharing
that combines groundbreaking academic research that
can change an industry, with the practical application of
how to utilise the technology in the real world,’ Dr Stone
explains. This pushes the whole industry and medical
community forward to achieving better and safer results for
our patients.’ csbm
www.cosbeauty.com.au 31