Medical Aesthetics

These injections, which are made up of cells (platelets) that are taken from your own blood, are used for treating an increasing number of medical conditions. Platelets are a type of blood cell that enables your blood to clot and thereby stop bleeding from injuries. But importantly, they also play a role in healing. 

For most injuries, the body heals itself fairly quickly and doesn’t require special interventions. PRP treatment is most commonly used to treat conditions where the healing process is frustratingly slow, such as injuries to the muscles, tendons, or bones. These slow-healing injuries can take months or even years to resolve, but platelet-rich plasma therapy can speed up the process. Most patients will encounter platelet-rich plasma therapy as an elective procedure for sports injuries, chronic tendon injuries, and hip or knee osteoarthritis. It is also being used in stimulating hair growth for baldness in both males and females.

They have been used as treatment for over 30 years, but in recent years there has been an explosion of its use in muskulo-skeletal injuries, as well as other applications. At this time, our PRP physician treates acne cysts with PRP as well as soft tissue injuries. 

PRP concentrates can stimulate the release of growth factors to jump-start healing in chronic injuries and accelerate the acute injury repair process. 

The main advantages of PRP include its safety and the ingenious preparation techniques of current commercial devices to prepare a biologic that can be used in a number of conditions. Most importantly, PRP is an autologous product, meaning it comes from you, with no known significant adverse effects, in contrast to the commonly used corticosteroid injections (which certainly also have their place in treating certain problems). 

Not everyone is a candidate for PRP injections. You should not get a PRP injection if you:

• Have low platelet counts
• Take blood thinners
• Have cancer
• Are pregnant
• Have an active infection

Blood will be drawn from your vein by the doctor or technician and the tube will be placed in a machine called a centrifuge to separate and concentrate the platelet-rich plasma from the rest of the blood. 

Once platelets are injected into the area that’s being treated, these cells break down and release many growth factors, which are compounds that help cells repair and renew, as well as releasing other chemicals that have anti-inflammatory and pain-killing properties. This is thought to accelerate your body’s healing process, a process called regeneration. 

Dr. Sarwat Ibrahim is a highly skilled and experienced primary care physician. He has been certified in the field of PRP injection, as well as in Botox treatments. He is certified by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) for PRP and BOTOX therapy. He looks forward to consulting with you to determine whether you would be a good candidate for such injection therapy.