Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy and platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) therapy are two regenerative medicine treatments that can address a range of aesthetic conditions without the need for surgery.
At Yco Facial Plastic Surgery in Encinitas, California, we offer PRF therapy, which is a minimally invasive treatment for wrinkles, lost facial volume, and dark circles under the eyes. Mario Yco, MD, can also use PRF therapy to enhance the overall symmetry of your face.
You may have heard of PRP therapy, a regenerative treatment that supports your body’s natural healing process, but PRF therapy is a little different. We explain the differences here.
Your blood contains a number of elements, including platelets. Platelets are powerful substances, because they help trigger cell regeneration and healing in the body. By harvesting these platelets and injecting them into diseased and damaged areas, this can help these areas heal quicker and better.
To perform PRP therapy, your provider takes a sample of your blood. Then your provider places the sample in a centrifuge, which spins the blood very fast and separates the platelets from the rest of your blood’s components.
Then your provider injects the resulting serum into the area that needs treatment. Then the platelets go to work helping to trigger cell regeneration and healing.
Platelet-rich fibrin therapy is basically a supercharged version of PRP therapy. One of the key ingredients in PRF are fibrinogens. Fibrinogens are proteins in your blood, and they turn into fibrin during the clotting process. Fibrin is responsible for stopping bleeding and healing wounds.
Unlike PRP therapy, PRF therapy retains these fibrinogen molecules to give a boost to the healing process. For this reason, PRF offers more healing benefits than PRP.
While Dr. Yco takes a sample of blood and spins it in a centrifuge as is done with PRP therapy, the centrifuge spins at a slower speed with PRF therapy. This prevents the total separation of your platelets from the rest of your blood’s components, which allows more fibrinogens, stem cells, and white blood cells to stay in the platelet layer.
Because of this, there are more healing elements in the resulting serum. So when Dr. Yco injects the serum into the treatment areas, the regeneration process gets a bigger boost than it could with PRP.
Another difference between PRP therapy and PRF therapy concerns added anticoagulants. When preparing PRP, doctors add an anticoagulant to the test tubes to prevent clotting.
Platelet-rich fibrin treatments don’t use anticoagulants, so the fibrinogens you receive during treatment naturally form a spongy fibrin that supports cosmetic improvements. This spongy structure (fibrin scaffold) helps provide long-lasting results.
Platelet-rich fibrin also allows for the slow release of growth factors that boost your natural healing processes from the inside out.
To correct aesthetic issues that develop as you get older, Dr. Yco injects PRF into specific points of your face. He follows a customized treatment plan to address:
Because he uses your own blood for treatment, your risks for side effects or complications are minimal. Furthermore, the results of your facial rejuvenation treatment should be long-lasting and completely natural-looking.
To make you more comfortable, Dr. Yco uses very small needles for your injections. He can also apply a topical numbing cream to prevent discomfort.
After your treatment is complete, you may notice an improvement in your facial aesthetic right away. However, your results will continue to improve in the weeks after your treatment as new collagen forms in the treatment area.
In addition to PRF therapy, we offer a wide range of nonsurgical services, including Renuva for volume, fat transfer, injectables, facial skin peels, microneedling, Clear + Brilliant, PDO Threads, Opus Plasma for skin tightening and CO2 laser skin resurfacing plus Exosomes to address age-related skin flaws. We carry medical grade skin care to take care of all of your skincare needs with 2 knowledgeable estheticians on staff.
To find out how platelet-rich fibrin therapy can rejuvenate your facial aesthetic, call 760-944-4211 option 3 or book an appointment online with YCO Facial Plastic Surgery today.
