PRP Treatment: Dr. Wesley

[Dr. Carlos Wesley]

This 30-year-old male with a psoriatic midscalp underwent a session of PRP (60mL concentrated to 3mL). The images (taken with a Folliscope) captured his progress over the course of the next 8 months. Within 5 weeks, the psoriatic scalp had resolved. The patient then experienced a subtle, but noticeable increase in density and caliber over the next few months.

 

Measurement points were based off of anatomic locations (e.g. 15cm from left tragus, 11cm from left medial canthus, etc.) rather than tattooing the patients scalp. Therefore, while the regions captured were nearly identical week to week, slight variability in the location capture exists. Our office will follow up with global pics, video for an alternative view.

[aaron1234]

Dr. Wesley,

 

As someone who often experiences psoriatic flare-ups on my scalp (and sometimes other places on my body) this case is very interesting to me. I haven't heard of the use of PRP for the treatment of skin conditions - is this type of treatment common? Is it used just for scalp? Would you recommend any other type of treatments for these psoriatic scalps before PRP?

 

Thanks!

[RCWest]

Thank you for sharing this, Dr. Wesley. This is very promising, even if it is subtle. There is an obvious improvement in density in that area. It's also interesting in the use of PRP for Psoriasis.

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

Hows the scarless FUT research going Dr Wesley??

[Dr. Carlos Wesley]

Thanks for your comments, guys. While I certainly wouldn't consider PRP a first-line therapy for psoriasis, it has been shown to thicken the epithelium, cause collagen fiber and fibroblast proliferation, and increase the numbers of blood vessels around hair follicles. Some literature suggests its positive effects on wound healing in plastic surgery and PRP has even has been shown to increase hair numbers and hair thickness. This is really the rationale behind using this method on this particular patient. The resolution of his psoriatic flare up was a bit of an unintended benefit.

 

And, yes, NEWHAIRPLEASE. Research is going well. We recently received a research grant to further the work with the hope that it can help the community in the future.

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

Great news!!

[Bill - Seemiller]

Dr. Wesley,

 

Thanks for presenting such an interesting case. Given previous discussion surrounding PRP's possible benefits in aiding wound healing and potentially increasing the number of terminal hairs, I'll be interested to see how this patient's scalp looks several months down the road.

 

Please keep us posted.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Billena]

This video demonstrates an improvement in mid scalp coverage 2.5 months after a session of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) was administered.