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

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.