Platelet Rich Plasma


Here at the Body Sculpting Center in Scottsdale, Arizona, two of the most commonly heard questions from patients considering plastic and cosmetic surgery are: "How long is the recovery process?" and "When can I return to normal social and business activities?" If you are like most people, you have a busy schedule whether it is due to family, social, or business related issues. No matter what the prevailing reasons, we all want to return to our public activities as soon as possible. Our practice encourages a faster return to work using platelet rich plasma to stimulate your body to heal faster.

A Little Bit About How The Body Heals...

Surgery in and of itself creates a controlled injury to your body's tissue. Fortunately, your body is equipped with healing mechanisms that begin a multi-stage healing process the moment the injury occurs. Proteins found within your body's bloodstream react like a response team and start performing a multitude of activities to stop bleeding, attract infection fighting cells and initiate new cell formation.

We all heal at different rates depending on our genes and our physical attributes. Although the same surgical techniques are often utilized on two separate patients, no two surgeries are ever identical because the patients themselves are unique. You will heal differently from your best friend or the person sitting across the room. Even within a singel surgery, your body may heal differently in one area compared to another.

What Is Platelet Rich Plasma And How Does It Work?

Today's medical technical innovations have brought to the surgical suite a revolutionizing technology that concentrates your very own healing factors from a small sample of self donated blood which is accomplished at the time of surgery.

In general terms, this process is often referred to as Platelet Rich Plasma, (PRP). More specifically it is called APC+, which stands for Autologous Platelet Concentrate. The whole concept is to boost your personal healing system with a concentrated delivery of your very own growth factors to the operative site.

At the day of surgery, your surgeon or one of our qualified staff members will draw 60 ml (around 4 tablespoons) of your blood in a fashion you may be familiar with if you have ever donated blood before. In order to separate and concentrate the growth factors and proteins, your donated blood will be placed in a specially designed centrifuge that separates the blood.

This technologically advanced device does all the work to stimulate the donated blood into a platelet rich protein gel, allowing your surgeon to continue with your cosmetic procedure. At the end of your cosmetic procedure, your surgeon will apply a light coating of your own super-charged platelet gel to the relevant tissues. This will help seal the tissues and enhance the healing process.

This method of sealing and healing the surgical wound has proven to be a very powerful method for getting our patients through their recovery quickly. We have incorporated this accelerated healing therapy into the practice because of the potential benefits to you, the patient; however, it's a personal choice for you to make. After discussing it with your doctor, inform the office staff of your decision.