Platelet rich plasma and BHT question

[commanderfink]

With PRP entering into the hair transplant arena does any one think maybe PRP could make BHT viable?

We all know that as a whole( afew rare cases being the exception) BHT is a collossal failure. Maybe coating the grafts with PRP and injecting the recipient site could increase the yield and make BHT viable with the infusion of growth factors.
I know BHT is not the future but HM is decades away if a Dr. could find someway to make BHT work we could get help in the presetn, the hair already there.

On a side note I spoke with the representative from Acell and he mentioned that a doctor (he would not give a name) recently coated beard hair grafts with acell and transplanted on the scalp. The grafts coated with acell grew while the ones without did not. Now I did not see any proof of what he claimed but he did say it.

Thoughts please

[iwannakeephair1674]

Are you talking about Body Hair Transplanting? because isn't that already available to do, just not recommended?

[gillenator]

[QUOTE=commanderfink;3238]With PRP entering into the hair transplant arena does any one think maybe PRP could make BHT viable?

We all know that as a whole( afew rare cases being the exception) BHT is a collossal failure. Maybe coating the grafts with PRP and injecting the recipient site could increase the yield and make BHT viable with the infusion of growth factors.
I know BHT is not the future but HM is decades away if a Dr. could find someway to make BHT work we could get help in the presetn, the hair already there.

On a side note I spoke with the representative from Acell and he mentioned that a doctor (he would not give a name) recently coated beard hair grafts with acell and transplanted on the scalp. The grafts coated with acell grew while the ones without did not. Now I did not see any proof of what he claimed but he did say it.

Thoughts please.


Commanderfink,

You definitely bring up a valid point and I feel that it should be tested and tried by several doctors and results documented/published. We also would need feedback from the patients.

[gillenator]

Are you talking about Body Hair Transplanting? because isn't that already available to do, just not recommended?

Yes it is available but the results even to this day are very inconsistent at best.

[commanderfink]

Yes it is available but the results even to this day are very inconsistent at best.

I'm surprised more people didn't post. BHT is available but it simply is not viable the success rate is below 30%. BUT prp MIGHT be able to change that.
Seems easy enough to try.

[Jerry Cooley, MD]

With PRP entering into the hair transplant arena does any one think maybe PRP could make BHT viable?

We all know that as a whole( afew rare cases being the exception) BHT is a collossal failure. Maybe coating the grafts with PRP and injecting the recipient site could increase the yield and make BHT viable with the infusion of growth factors.
I know BHT is not the future but HM is decades away if a Dr. could find someway to make BHT work we could get help in the presetn, the hair already there.



Thoughts please

This is a great question and I think its worth trying. My guess is that PRP would not significantly help the success rate because I think that body hairs are intrinsically programmed to be slow growing and spend much of their time resting in a telogen state. A short burst of growth factors that PRP provides might help the 'take rate' of the grafts but not change the underlying programming within the cells of the body hair follicles.

Jerry Cooley, MD

[commanderfink]

This is a great question and I think its worth trying. My guess is that PRP would not significantly help the success rate because I think that body hairs are intrinsically programmed to be slow growing and spend much of their time resting in a telogen state. A short burst of growth factors that PRP provides might help the 'take rate' of the grafts but not change the underlying programming within the cells of the body hair follicles.

Jerry Cooley, MD

Thanks for responding. I always thought the issue of BHT suckage was more the grafts just wouldnt grow. The grafts would be transplanted then never seen again. If it was a resting issue or slow growth issue wouldnt they eventually pop up?
Do you have any plans to test the bht prp theory. Myaybe it's like a car battery that won't start all it needs is that initial jump it'll be fine.
Do you have any comments on what the ACELL rep said about the beard hair grafts coated in acell growing?
BHT failure has always been a sore point with me. The hair is there all we need to do is find a way to make it grow. for hairy beasts like me it would be a dream come true to find a new residence for all that back,chest,shoulder hair. TRUE hair cloning won't be out for decades.

[Jerry Cooley, MD]

Commanderfink,

You may be right. Since I don't do BHT, I'm basing my opinions on what I've heard, not direct experience. My point was that I think there is something genetically programmed into body hairs to be less transplantable. Just like one type of flower may be easier to grow, cultivate, and transplant, the same may be true of hair follicles. But I definitely agree with you that BHT + PRP is worth trying.

In regards to beard grafting, its interesting you bring that up. I was just visiting with Gary Hitzig in New York who developed this technique over 7 years ago and uses it as an alternative to BHT for donor strapped patients. He's been experimenting over the years with modifications, like adding fat/dermis to 'sandwich' the beard grafts and the use of products like Acell. This is an 'extracellular matrix' (ECM), one of many such products to recently be introduced to the marketplace. Interestingly, Joe Greco's PRP protocol involves creating ECM from plasma proteins to mix with the PRP. I think their may be a potential to use PRP-ECM along with beard grafts to improve take. Like BHT, beard grafting may give hair that is more coarse and wiry than normal scalp hair. This may be a problem for people with fine hair and coarse beards, where the beard hairs will stand out from their finer neighbors. Nevertheless, I think beard grafting has the potential to be an alternative to BHT and I've begun offering "Hitzig Beard Grafting" and combining it with "Greco's PRP-ECM".

Dr Cooley

[commanderfink]

Dr. Cooley, do you have any plans on testing greco PRP with bht (or Acell with bht) and creating a blog so we can watch, similar to what Dr. Jones is doing?

What is your thoughts on Acell. Do you think it could really provide scar less healing? I know Dr. Jones experiment was a bust ,do you have any knowledge on Dr. Hitzig's Acell attempt?