WORDS: J.P. Faber

Among today’s hottest non-invasive techniques to rejuvenate skin is the use of Platelet Rich Plasma. Now a leading doctor takes it another step, using PRP with dermal heating to melt off the years.

The popular press has dubbed it the ‘Vampire Face Lift,’ because the procedure involves injecting a patient’s own recycled blood to rejuvenate the face. Sounds lurid, but it’s really not.

What the Vampire Face Lift actually uses is the plasma part of the blood, not the red blood cells, so what is injected looks like a clear broth. But it’s much more than that. Officially dubbed Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP), it’s the part of your blood that is loaded with growth factors—proteins that stimulate the growth and reproduction of cells. If you inject PRP into a patient’s face, it stimulates the skin to grow new collagen.

“Growth factors are cellular compounds that regulate cell division,” says Norman Pastorek, MD, a leading New York facial plastic surgeon and clinical professor at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center. “They are the keys that turn on the cellular networks to reproduce.”

What Dr. Pastorek has done to produce what he calls ‘amazing’ results is combine PRP injections with dermal heating, a process that uses radio waves, ultrasound or laser light to heat the patient’s below-surface skin, causing it to rebuild collagen and tighten up. Like laser resurfacing of the skin, it works by breaking down the tissue—actually injuring it—which induces a process of renewal. When you add PRP, it pushes that transformation to a new level.

“PRP works with cells in the tissue that are in the process of cellular ‘turnabout’ or remaking themselves,” says Janice Pastorek, Dr. Pastorek’s wife, nurse and partner in his Manhattan practice. “The idea is that PRP, when it is used with any kind of dermal heating that creates thermal injury, puts additional growth factors in place. You’ve got this little group of buddies helping out. So you see a faster, better recovery.” Many doctors already use PRP treatments in their clinics, but typically without the use of dermal heating. Like Dr. Pastorek, they separate the PRP from the patient’s blood and then re-inject it.

“What we do is concentrate the blood down and inject the PRP directly into the areas [we want to rejuvenate],” says Aurora Badia, DO, MD. “It stimulates collagen in the skin and gives you a more youthful appearance. You also gain some volume.” Dr. Badia, who practices in Southwest Florida, also uses PRP in the scalp of patients who are starting to lose their hair, to rejuvenate the dying follicles.

What PRP does for the skin, says Dr. Badia, is to add a vibrancy that does not come with a traditional facelift. “People come in and say, ‘I just need a facelift.’ But it’s a balance between being taut, volume rejuvenation and the texture. The skin itself has got to have a brightness to it, a radiance.”

By using dermal heating with PRP, the skin can achieve both tightness and luminosity, says Dr. Pastorek. “The PRP just helps make better tissue wherever you inject it. The skin becomes more dense, more luminous, and the pores are smaller,” he says. “We were skeptical at first, but we’ve been really amazed. Our patients are captivated.”

Neil Saddick, MD, a prominent New York dermatologist, says he is now beginning to test the combined dermal heating/PRP therapies as well, using an Endymed radio frequency device for the dermal heating. “We have used [this combination] on several patients, and they are very happy. Their skin has rejuvenated. We are going to write a white paper on it.”

The Pastoreks report that the procedure takes about four weeks to show full results in younger patients, and about eight weeks for older patients. “We are also seeing that it lasts,” says Janice. “We have done it for a year, so it holds up for at least that long.”