Poseidonkliniken has started a close cooperation with
MediCura AS for performing PRP treatments. A PRP treatment is done to prevent, counteract and slow hair loss by enhancing the body’s own growth and repair mechanisms in the scalp and hair roots. PRP is an abbreviation of Platelet Rich Plasma which contains allogenic growth factors. Since PRP is the body’s own materials, PRP treatments have no side effects.
A PRP treatment without numbing the area is very painful. But a misplaced anesthetic, or the use of numbing cream, prevents the treatment for working effectively. For this reason, many clinics chose not to numb the patient. Poseidonkliniken anesthetizes the area in a way so that the treatment will not be affected at all. This means that a PRP treatment at Poseidonkliniken will always be pain free. The numbing method used by Poseidonkliniken is a part of the PRP protocol that medical doctor Tom Viken has developed, and that Poseidonkliniken has exclusive rights to use in our PRP treatments.
Success and results from a PRP treatment is completely dependent on what type of medical protocol is used. The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), one of the world’s leading medical research institutes, has done research on the effect of PRP on hair loss. A medical protocol was developed based on these research results, and it has shown great potential. The UCLA-method shows that blood concentration, local anesthetic, injection depth and injection pattern have a direct effect on the result. Medical doctor Tom Viken – one of the leading experts in Norway on PRP and the founder of MediCura – has performed thousands of PRP treatments according to the UCLA method. Tom Viken has then used his experience and expertise to further develop the UCLA method by gradually changing the PRP concentration and using another type of nerve blocking local anesthesia. The results from treatments done with these changes have shown even better results than treatments done strictly according to the UCLA method.
The reason that a PRP treatment may not have a good effect can be a too low PRP concentration, a badly placed local anesthesia and/or that the injection of PRP has not been done at the right depth or according to the wrong type of pattern on the scalp.
Tom Viken has performed thousands of treatments according to the medical protocol that he has developed.
Using PRP is not a new thing and many providers have been offering PRP treatments during the last years with varying results. Poseidonkliniken has until now been hesitant to use this treatment because of the lack of scientific evidence that the treatment works on a majority of treated patients. Poseidonkliniken has therefore made the conscious choice not to offer PRP treatments. However, the results from PRP treatments done according to the medical protocol developed by Tom Viken have had a very good success rate in the majority of patients who have the treatment done with impressive results.
Dr Viken has also developed a protocol for treating osteoarthritis with PRP, and in the future Poseidonkliniken will also be offering PRP treatments in other areas than hair loss.
The earlier a PRP treatment is performed the better the chances are to slow the hair loss down. The start of hair loss is usually seen by thinner hair and that the scalp is not covered as it once used to be. After a while, the hair follicle sheds the hair strand, and the hair follicle will stop producing new hair. Gradually you will experience thinner and less dense hair growth that increases with time. At the consultation we can assess which stage your hair loss is in, and if PRP is a suitable treatment for you.
Before we can perform a PRP treatment you will need to have a 30-minute consultation. If you decide to have the treatment done, you can usually do it right after the consultation.
The first step in a PRP treatment is drawing a small amount of blood. The blood is then treated to extract as much growth factors as possible from the blood. This is done by centrifugation in a special centrifuge that separates the red blood cells from the white blood cells, which contain a concentration of platelets, growth factors and stem cells. The resultant concentrate is called plasma and since it contains platelets it is called Platelet Rich Plasma, or PRP. Then we numb the treatment area with a local anesthetic in a way that does not affect the result of the PRP treatment according to Tom Viken’s PRP protocol.
Local anesthesia is important since a PRP treatment without numbing the area can be painful. Many clinics only use a numbing cream or put local anesthesia on the scalp in a way that can affect the treatment. As mentioned above, a badly placed anesthetic can, besides a low concentration of growth factors, be a reason that the PRP treatment is not successful. Local anesthesia according to Tom Viken’s PRP protocol can only be performed by a trained and experienced doctor.
Plasma with a high concentration of growth factors is injected into the scalp around the hair follicles. For the treatment to be successful, the plasma must have a sufficient amount of PRP and it needs to be injected at the right depth and in the right pattern on the scalp.
When the plasma is injected into the scalp the growth factors cause a physiological creation of the structures that the hair needs to grow. In lay man’s terms, the growth factors can be said to wake sleeping hair follicles and activate reserve cells that promote growth of new blood cells, hair follicle cells and skin cells. This leads to healthier and fresh hair growth and better scalp circulation.
A PRP treatment only takes 30 minutes, and you can go back to work after having the treatment.
A complete PRP treatment includes four treatment sessions that should be done with one month in between treatments. In most cases the treatment will have a positive and noticeable effect after four months and then the treatment has to be repeated two times a year to create a lasting effect.
Just like with all types of treatments, PRP does not work for everyone. If the treatment does not show any results after four sessions, it has to be concluded that the patient does not respond to the treatment and the treatment should not be continued.
