Platelet Rich Plasma − Wilmington DE
Wilmington DE Oral Surgeon, Louis K. Rafetto, DMD, can help you heal faster from your bone grafting with the use of Platelet Rich Plasma. Wilmington Office Phone Number Wilmington Office Phone Number 302-477-1800
Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) is a by-product of blood (plasma) that is rich in platelets. PRP permits the body to take advantage of the normal healing pathways at an accelerated rate.
During the healing process, the body rushes many cells including platelets to the wound to initiate the healing process. Platelets perform many functions, including formation of a blood clot and release of growth factors (GF) into the wound.
These growth factors assist the body in repairing itself by stimulating stem cells to regenerate new tissue. Until recently, its use has been confined to the hospital setting.
New technology permits the doctor to harvest and produce a sufficient quantity of platelets from a limited amount of blood drawn from the patient while they are having office surgery. The primary clinical application is to enhance bone grafting.
This includes onlay and inlay grafts, sinus lift procedures, ridge augmentation procedures, and closure of cleft, lip and palate defects.
PRP offers several advantages:
- Safety: PRP is a by-product of the patient’s own blood, therefore, disease transmission is not an issue.
- Convenience: PRP can be generated in the doctor’s office while the patient is undergoing an outpatient surgical procedure, such as placement of dental implants.
- Faster healing: The supersaturation of the wound with PRP, and thus growth factors, produces an increase of tissue synthesis and thus faster tissue regeneration.
- Cost effectiveness: Since PRP harvesting is done with only 55 cc of blood in the doctor’s office, the patient need not incur the expense of the harvesting procedure in hospital or at the blood bank.
- Ease of use: PRP is easy to handle and improves the ease of application of bone substitute materials and bone grafting products by making them more gel-like.
Frequently asked questions about PRP
Is PRP safe?
Yes. During the outpatient surgical procedure a small amount of your own blood is drawn out via the IV. This blood is then placed in the PRP centrifuge machine and spun down. In less than fifteen minutes, the PRP is formed and ready to use.
Should PRP be used in all bone-grafting cases?
Not always. In some cases, there is no need for PRP. However, in the selected cases, application of PRP to the graft seems to make the wound heal faster and more efficiently.
Can PRP be used alone to stimulate bone formation?
No. PRP must be mixed with either the patient’s own bone along with a bone substitute material such as demineralized freeze-dried bone, or a synthetic bone product.
Are there any contraindications to PRP?
Very few. Patients with bleeding disorders or hematologic diseases do not qualify for this in-office procedure.