Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) may be the beginning of future medical possibilities where doctors cure patients with debilitating injuries and conditions using cells from patients’ own bodies. Doctors at The Orthopaedic Center (TOC) in Huntsville, Alabama have begun using Platelet-Rich Plasma on patients trying to heal soft-tissue injuries while avoiding the rigors of surgery.
During PRP, a doctor concentrates the patient’s blood platelets (naturally occurring blood components that stimulate healing) by spinning a small sample of blood in a centrifuge. Those platelets are then delivered directly to soft-tissue injuries. The entire process takes about an hour and requires only a standard blood draw and simple injection. “PRP is a simple concept: using the person’s own growth factors that normally circulate in their blood, concentrate them and place them where they need to be to stimulate the healing response,” says Stanton Davis, M.D., former team physician for the San Fransisco 49ers and Auburn University. Dr. Davis now performs orthopaedic surgery and PRP at The Orthopedic Center (TOC) in Huntsville, Alabama. “In orthopaedic surgery the time for recovery is limited only by how quickly tissue can heal. PRP may jumpstart that process,” Dr. Davis added.