Update (December 17, 2010), you can now hear Carl tell the story for yourself in this PRP Sarasota video.
I recently spoke to a newly-retired Sarasota resident who had found himself facing knee surgery.
After enduring numerous treatments — starting with cortisone shots and progressing from there — he was experiencing additional symptoms in his knee. And his “good” knee was beginning the same decline. The result? He walked with a limp, couldn’t climb stairs, and was slowing down significantly.
Remarkably, after hearing all about his knee problems, this guy did a happy dance in front of me. No really… he danced. And quite vigorously, too!
This guy was dancing for 2 reasons:
- He had saved a bunch of money avoiding surgery, and…
- He had avoided surgery.
Did I mention he didn’t need surgery anymore?
Oh… and the other reason he was dancing: he had no pain in his knees!
Medically speaking, this gentleman had experienced regenerative healing. When you have new tissue growth and repair, there’s no need to go under the knife!
How did it happen?
3 words: Platelet Rich Plasma. Or in 3 letters: PRP.
How Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) Works
It turns out our bodies have amazing healing abilities. (Who knew?) But sometimes situations deteriorate in places where it’s hard to get the healing ability of the human body to function. So… in a simple outpatient procedure that literally takes minutes to complete, Dr. Dan Kassicieh draws blood from the patient, works a little magic (not the medical term), and re-injects the resulting soup right at the point where your body needs some healing.
This treatment happens on a completely outpatient basis in Dr. Kassicieh’s office on Cattlemen Road. And although it’s relatively pain-free (the gentleman I spoke to didn’t feel any pain during the procedure at all) and is quick, perhaps the best benefit of all is that you get to skip the recovery time associated with surgery!
The “magic” I referred to earlier involves spinning the blood drawn from the patient in order to separate the platelets from other components. The platelets are then mixed with some other stuff (bioactive proteins, I’m told, among other things) and the super-concentrated healing liquid gets expertly injected at just the right point.
From there, the platelets and proteins act as a catalyst — triggering an amazing healing response from the patient’s own body. Actual new tissue is created as a result.
The procedure isn’t right for every situation, but for most people suffering from joint pain, sports-related and other injuries, and a variety of other painful conditions, PRP is a fantastic way to avoid surgery and narcotics.
If you’re interested in learning more, you can visit Dr. Kassicieh’s PRP Sarasota website, check out this Platelet Rich Plasma Sarasota video on YouTube… or call Sarasota Neurology at (941) 955-5858.
