title: Platelet-rich plasma: a review of biology and applications in plastic surgery.
abstract: Healing of hard and soft tissue is mediated by a complex array of intracellular and extracellular events that are regulated by signaling proteins, a process that is, at present, incompletely understood. What is certain, however, is that platelets play a prominent if not deciding role. Controlled animal studies of soft and hard tissues have suggested that the application of autogenous platelet-rich plasma can enhance wound healing. The clinical use of platelet-rich plasma for a wide variety of applications has been reported; however, many reports are anecdotal and few include controls to definitively determine the role of platelet-rich plasma. The authors describe platelet biology and its role in wound healing; the preparation, characterization, and use of platelet-rich plasma; and those applications in plastic surgery for which it may be useful.
authors.affiliation: Indianapolis and Warsaw, Ind.; and Chicago, Ill. From the Division of Plastic Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine; Biomet, Inc.; and Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Chicago.
authors.forename: Barry L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Eppley
authors.forename: William S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Pietrzak
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Blanton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001777:Blood Coagulation / Q000502:physiology; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000502:physiology*; D001804:Blood Transfusion, Autologous; D006487:Hemostasis / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D010949:Plasma / Q000502:physiology*; D015539:Platelet Activation / Q000502:physiology; D017713:Platelet Transfusion; D010982:Platelet-Derived Growth Factor; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D010982:Platelet-Derived Growth Factor