Photothermal Biomodulated Platelet-rich Plasma Improves Preservation of Hair Grafts and Extends Their Viability

Abstract

Summary: Hair transplantation effectively treats alopecia, and hair graft viability is crucial for its success. The study aimed to assess the use of preconditioned autologous platelet-rich plasma with photothermal biostimulation as a graft preservation solution to increase the viability time of follicular units before transplantation. The study was conducted as a proof of concept. The platelet-rich plasma photothermal biostimulation was conducted using the MCT System, exposing the sample for 15 minutes to 623 nm red light with an intensity of 0.5 J/cm2 and a temperature of 4 ºC to obtain the MCT Plasma. Grafts of volunteers were collected and preserved in 2 Petri dishes per preservation solution (MCT Plasma + phosphate-buffered saline, Ringer’s lactate, and saline solution). Graft viability was evaluated in 6 random follicular units at 5, 6, 7, and 8 hours with 0.4% Trypan blue stain diluted at 1/6 with NaCl 0.9%. Twenty-eight male volunteers were included with a mean age of 41 (SD 8.14, range 29–59). A total of 240 grafts were collected from each subject and distributed equitably in 2 Petri dishes for each preservation solution. At 8 hours, only grafts preserved in MCT Plasma with phosphate-buffered saline survived. MCT Plasma maintained hair follicle viability more effectively before transplantation than the saline solution or Ringer’s lactate, demonstrating its efficacy as a preservation solution. Hair grafts preserved in MCT plasma with phosphate-buffered saline remained viable for eight hours following extraction, 2 hours longer than with the other tested solutions.