This is a technique that has been used now for the past few years to help with wound healing and regeneration of various tissues in the body, including skin and bone. It involves the use of one’s own blood, or more specifically, platelets, to help accelerate the wound healing process.
Platelets are a part of the blood that synthesises growth factor throughout its life span and actively secretes them in response to clotting. This makes logical sense. If you cut yourself, platelets are attracted to the wound, and release growth factors to help it heal.
As cosmetic doctors, we use these platelets to help skin heal after procedures such as laser resurfacing. They also can be used in skin that hasn’t been treated otherwise to rejuvenate the skin.
In order to extract the platelet rich plasma, we take about 20mL of your own blood and use a centrifuge to spin it down. The red blood cells, which are much larger and heavier than the platelets, end up at the bottom of the vial, and the platelet rich plasma at the top. The platelet rich plasma is then extracted.
As stated previously, platelets usually release growth factors in response to clotting. We achieve this in vitro by adding calcium chloride to the platelet rich plasma that we have extracted. This sets off the clotting cascade and induces platelets to release growth factors that help with wound healing. The activated platelet rich plasma is then injected or placed in the treatment area.
This technique has been used to help reduce healing times in surgical wounds such as those from skin grafts or face lifts.
We have just placed our order for the Ultrapulse a fractional carbon dioxide laser made by the company Lumenis. It is the most powerful laser in its class and is at the cutting edge of new laser technologies.
It is a excellent treatment for the treatment of wrinkles, acne scars, pigmentation, and dull/sallow skin.
Downtime/recovery can be tailored to your specific needs, so you can have anywhere from as little as 4 days downtime.
We should be receiving the laser in the next few weeks. For those who are interested in having a consultation and being one of the first people to have this treatment done at The Victorian Cosmetic Institute, please call 88500655 (Templestowe clinic). We will only have the laser at our Templestowe clinic.
The Lumenis Ultrapulse fractional carbon dioxide laser has arrived at The Victorian Cosmetic Institute. We have performed treatments on a few patients, and so far the results appear very promising. Fractional carbon dioxide lasers utilise new technology that fires small columns of laser into the skin, leaving the skin in between the laser columns intact. This aids with skin healing times and reduces the risk of the procedure. Post-laser care with the patients treated so far has been much easier and simpler than other forms of laser resurfacing that we have used so far.
There are two different hand pieces on the laser, the Active Fx and the Deep Fx. The Active Fx handpiece doesn’t penetrate as deeply as the Deep Fx handpiece, but has a greater density of coverage with the columns of laser fired into the skin. This hand pieces is used more for superficial or fine wrinkles and pigmentation problems. The Deep Fx fires smaller columns of laser energy into the skin than the Active Fx, and these columns penetrate much deeper – up to 2mm. The Deep Fx hand pieces induces significant skin tightening/contraction and its deeper penetration allows for the treatment of problems such as acne scarring or deeper wrinkles.
Overall, we are finding the fractional carbon dioxide very useful, and we are able to strike a good balance with this laser between recovery periods and results – something that has always been difficult to do.
For more information on the Lumenis Ultrapulse laser, click here.
We are also expecting delivery of a Candela Smoothbeam laser in late July. This machine targets the root of the problem of acne – the sebaceous gland. It helps to reduce activity in this gland and reduce its output and subsequently help reduce acne.
Due to a large demand for light/laser-based acne treatments, we have extended our armementarium of lasers to treat acne. Most patients with acne want a result as fast as possible, and although medical grade skin care and medications are the mainstay of treatment for acne, the results from these treatments takes some time to take proper effect. Laser and light based treatments can expidite the treatment of acne.
Currently, we have a few acne/light based therapies for acne. These include LED phototherapy, pulsed dye laser treatment and photodynamic therapy. These three treatments target the acne bacteria, proprionibacterium acnes (p.acnes).
P.acnes creates substances called porphyrins (a by-product of their metabolic processes) that is the main target of the above light/laser based therapies. LED phototherapy and pulsed dye laser treatments activate the porphyrins to produce an oxygen free radical that subsequently destroys the p.acnes. There is usually no downtime with these two treatments
Photodynamic dynamic therapy also does the same thing, except this requires the application of a substance called ALA which stimulates the p.acnes to produce more porphyrins and therefore more oxygen free radicals when activated by a LED light source or the pulsed dye laser. The downtime from this can be significant, but the number of treatments is reduced as a result.
Until now, we haven’t been able to target with laser the other cause of acne, the sebaceous gland. In the next fortnight, we will be receiving delivery of a Candela Smoothbeam laser, a laser which targets the sebaceous gland. We have trialled this laser previously, with good results for acne. The Smoothbeam laser has a wavelength that penetrates to the depth of the sebaceous gland and helps to regulate sebum/oil production this way.
So in the next few weeks, we will be able to treat our patients with the Smoothbeam laser in conjunction with other laser/light treatments and target all the potential causes for acne.
