PRP Courses Now Offered by a Leading Pretoria Training Academy

 

The acronym PRP stands for platelet-rich plasma, a natural preparation that forms the basis of a number of courses of medical and aesthetic treatments in common use today. Platelets or thrombocytes are an important component of mammalian blood and consist of tiny fragments of protoplasm that, unlike other blood cells, have no nucleus. Nevertheless, they play a vitally important part in the complex series of reactions involved in the clotting process and are essential to limit blood loss as a result of injury to vessels. They act by binding to the site of vascular damage and to one another, thus creating a physical plug that seals the wound. Platelet concentrates are often transfused into patients in whom there is a marked deficiency of these cells or where they are dysfunctional due to the use of certain medications.

 

First produced in the ‘70s, PRP was later used in open heart surgery and has since been applied in a variety of other medical applications, including courses of treatment designed to speed up the process of bone healing, particularly in spinal injuries, and to aid soft tissue recovery following various plastic surgery procedures. More recently, there has been a great deal of publicity regarding the use of platelet-rich plasm in the effective treatment of sports-related injuries.

 

The proven healing properties of this natural preparation have resulted in a race to find more and more uses for it. This, in turn, has prompted the need for those who may wish to make use of them, to first attend one of the available PRP courses, so as to become familiar with the theory and practice relating to the techniques involved, as well as to gain a sound understanding of the indications for their various uses.

 

Given the nature of blood and its division into distinctly different and mostly incompatible groups, these procedures must be performed using an autologous preparation. That is to say, the subject’s own blood is used to provide the platelet concentrate that will later be used in his or her treatment. The technique is relatively simple, but requires skilled and careful handling, and begins with collecting a venous blood sample. The whole blood is then placed into a centrifuge that separates the solid components in order of size, leaving the clear plasma above. The platelets are then harvested from the uppermost cell layer and mixed with plasma in the recommended proportions.

 

Professional PRP courses will cover both the preparation and injection of the concentrated platelet suspension, which is rich in cytokines and growth hormones that have the effect of jump starting the natural healing process. While there is still insufficient evidence to substantiate claims that this form of therapy may be effective in restoring hair loss, some aesthetic centres already offer it as an alopecia treatment.

 

The Medskills Training Academy is widely accepted as a leader in the field of medical aesthetic training and in addition to the many other forms of treatment for which it offers professional instruction, it also includes PRP courses conducted exclusively by practitioners that are acknowledged experts in this technology. Treatments may only be conducted by a qualified medical practitioner, so attendees will therefore be under the care of an experienced tutor with a similar qualification.