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My PRP Treatment With Dr. Feller


a.j.

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So yesterday, I had my PRP treatment with Dr. Feller. The treatment itself is quick. It took about 45 minutes from start to finish. The whole thing was done with me sitting in a reclining 'dentist' chair. It commences with a tech drawing a large syringe of blood, which is taken to another room where it is put in a centrifuge that spins it to separate the platelet rich plasma from the other components of the blood. Dr. Feller then numbed the areas of my head we agreed to treat with PRP by injecting them with a numbing agent (probably Lidocaine, but I neglected to ask). This was the only uncomfortable part of the treatment. Those of you who have had a hair transplant will no doubt remember the numerous 'sticks' of these injections. Dr. Feller is adept at giving them and lets you know what to expect with each one ('a stick, and a little pressure'). As the area begins to numb up, the discomfort of successive injections is diminished. Each injection is accompanied by a little 'crunching' sound that is conducted from the site of the injection through the skull. Don't be alarmed.

 

The tech returned with the syringe of my platelet rich plasma. Because the top of my head was numb, I wasn't entirely sure whether she was injecting the plasma beneath the scalp at various places, but I am pretty sure she was. Once the plasma was used up, she went over the entire area with a needle, making lots and lots of little pricks (which weren't felt because the area was still numb). My understanding is that this activates the platelets. Before the procedure, I asked Dr. Feller about his use of needle pricks versus a perforating wheel, such as the one I saw Dr. Robert Jones (Toronto) use in his video demonstration of his self-administered PRP treatment. Dr. Feller believes that the pricks (which are more labor intensive) should be more effective because they penetrate the scalp, whereas the wheel only irritates the scalp. Anyway, that was it. Done! Today, I have only a little soreness at a couple of small spots.

 

As I mentioned elsewhere, I wanted to try a PRP treatment in anticipation of having a HT of my frontal third (more like frontal fourth), including the hairline. (I had a very small session of "mini" grafts placed just behind the hairline zone about 15 years ago, but have worn a hairpiece since.) I want to see if moderate miniaturization of hairs comprising about an inch-deep or so strip on top of my head can be stopped or reversed so as avoid having to transplant into that area. I also want to see whether the hair farther back on top of my head leading towards the crown, which has only recently started to miniaturize and thin a bit, can be bolstered and maintained without drugs. Dr. Feller and I also discussed 'turbo charging' my donor area with PRP a couple of weeks prior to transplant.

 

Dr. Feller was up front about the nascency of using PRP to treat hair loss. At worst, he says, it will do no harm because it is your own blood. What I know of the science and the successful history of PRP for other medical purposes makes me optimistic that it could deliver cosmetically significant benefits for hair loss, but only time will tell. Dr. Feller took 'before' photos. I will be taking photo updates every few weeks or so over the next several months, which either I or Dr. Feller will probably post here. (Note to Dr. Feller: Feel free to post photos with my facial features masked.)

 

Cheers,

a.j.

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A.J.

 

Thanks for sharing your PRP procedure experience. I certainly do hope that you and/or Dr. Feller will post your photos prior to the procedure and that you'll share photos of your hair progressively over the next few months to see if there's an observable difference.

 

All the best,

 

Bill

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very good write up.. I had my prp treatment with feller on the 4th, so you saved me some time writing about it.. Id just like to say that I shared a very similar experience as well... Has the tenderness of your scalp went away yet?

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dr feller mentioned months ago in one of his posts that he is getting a discount the the prp equipment but that discount runs out after the summer so that is why it will go to $800

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Bill,

Dr. Feller has the "before" photos, which I will ask him to post. In retrospect, I should have asked him to take more detailed photos of the top rear two-thirds of my head and rearward from there to the crown, and I should have asked him to take hair counts and to measure hair shaft diameters there. Those areas have only just begun to thin slightly, and are the areas I most want to bolster and maintain via PRP.

 

While it would be nice to get some cosmetic benefit to the 1" deep, moderately miniaturized zone in front of that area and even to the 1" deep, markedly miniaturized and diffusely thinned zone in front of that (directly behind my old "mini" grafts), the primary objective is to bolster and maintain the top rear two-thirds and crown while they are still relatively robust. If I transplant the frontal third, I don't want to have to "chase" my hair loss with future transplants. Propecia is not an option for me because the two times I tried it I had adverse reactions sufficiently severe to cause me to stop taking it after a few days. Besides, Propecia seems to lose its efficacy for some users after a number of years.

 

If PRP fails to reverse, or at least halt the early thinning of the top rear two-thirds and crown, I might well decide simply to have the 50 or so old "mini" grafts removed, maybe FUE into my three-inch-long scar, and start close-cropping the old noggin. To my way of thinking, that would be preferable to a lifetime of "system" wearing or stripping myself out to where my eyebrows are on top of my head and my ass is at my ears. That said, if PRP works for me (fingers crossed), I would go ahead with a transplant and be okay with repeating PRP every six months or so -- sort of like Botox for men.

 

brentipold,

I paid $800. As of today, the fifth day following PRP treatment, I have only two dime-sized spots of slight tenderness that I don't notice unless I press on them. For me, four days out was when residual tenderness/soreness became a non-issue.

 

Grow well!

 

a.j.

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where my eyebrows are on top of my head and my ass is at my ears

 

That's very funny icon_biggrin.gif

Thank you guys for your time, it sounds like the treatment is around $800.00 for now, I am looking forward to your updates in the next few months, I would just love to be Finasteride free, I think I can see the efficiency decreasing year after year.

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  • 3 weeks later...
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Yes that makes sense to me. If you say your hairloss is to strong that could be why it didnt work. the results that dr feller had posted were on guys who were middle aged and still had a vast amount of hair, such as myself, although i am quite young.

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RayRay, I'll be getting the same thing done with Dr. Greco in two months. I want to be sure I won't be wasting a grand... but I was told since I'm young (21) and it takes five years for hair follicles to actually die completely, there's a chance of bringing some back, or at least thickening what's already there.

 

If you don't mind my asking, how old are you, RayRay? Knowing would help a lot.

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Thanks Ray Ray. I have been emailing Dr. Greco asking for pics showing the benefits of prp and to be put in touch with happy patients but have been met with nothing but silence. I guess that says it all. I have also pm'd Dr. Glen Charles for some pics and so far he has not even responded. Go figure. What were your target areas? hairline I'm guessing?

 

Does Greco have many prp pictures in his office or did you just drop a grand on cold faith?

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Based on my experience in clinical research / drug development - be wary of the "touted" efficacy of any treatment that shows an effect only on a "subgroup" of patients - THIS IS MY OPINION!

Dec. 2004 - 1938 Grafts via Strip

Feb. 2009 - 1002 Grafts via FUE

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Originally posted by HairHope:

Based on my experience in clinical research / drug development - be wary of the "touted" efficacy of any treatment that shows an effect only on a "subgroup" of patients - THIS IS MY OPINION!

 

 

 

I'm beginning to think the same thing, however I need to think positive because Ive undergone the treatment! :P

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Well I think I need to say that I did hear from Dr. Greco and he did put me in touch with a patient. He showed me a few results with pics and it definitely looked good. The patient I talked to was also thrilled with his results.

 

I'm beginning to think ti might be like propecia. Work in some and not work as well in others.

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