Blood Enhanced Growth Factors (BEGF)

The substance is a by-product of blood (plasma) that is rich in platelets. Due to high cost, the use of blood enhanced growth factors was once confined to the hospital setting. New technology permitted doctors to harvest a greater quantity of platelets from the patient, which lowered the cost and made it readily available.

Blood enhanced growth factors permit the body to take advantage of the normal healing pathways at a greatly accelerated rate. During the healing process, the body rushes many cells and cell-types to the wound in order to initiate the healing process.

Platelets are one of those cell types. They perform many functions, including the formation of a blood clot and release of growth factors (GF) into the wound. These GF (platelet derived growth factors PGDF, transforming growth factor beta TGF, and insulin-like growth factor ILGF) assist the body in repairing itself by stimulating stem cells to regenerate new tissue.

The more growth factors released into the wound, the more stem cells are stimulated to produce new host tissue. Thus, one can easily see that BEGF permits the body to heal faster and more efficiently.

A subfamily of TGF is bone morphogenic protein (BMP), which has been shown to induce the formation of new bone in research studies in animals and humans. This is significant to the surgeon who places dental implants. By adding BEGF, and thus BMP, to the implant site with bone substitute particles, the implant surgeon can now grow bone more predictably and faster than ever before.

• Boosting collagen and skin elasticity during skin Microneedling treatments
• Accelerated healing for Hair Restoration
• Bone grafting for dental implants. This includes onlay and inlay grafts, sinus lift procedures, ridge  augmentation procedures, and closure of cleft, lip and palate defects.
• Repair of bone defects created by removal of teeth or small cysts.
• Repair of fistulas between the sinus cavity and mouth.

• Safety: Blood enhanced growth factors are a by-product of the patient’s own blood; therefore, disease transmission is not an issue.
• Convenience: Blood enhanced growth factors can be generated in the doctor’s office while the patient is undergoing an outpatient surgical procedure, such as placement of dental implants.
• Faster healing: The super-saturation of the wound with blood enhanced growth factors, and thus growth factors, produces an increase of tissue synthesis and faster tissue regeneration in the skin and orally.
• Cost effectiveness: Since blood enhanced growth factor harvesting is done with only 55cc of blood in the doctor’s office, the patient need not incur the expense of the harvesting procedure in hospital or at the blood bank.
• Ease of use: Blood enhanced growth factors are easy to handle and actually improves the ease of application of bone substitute materials and bone grafting products by making them more gel-like.

Q: Are blood enhanced growth factors safe?
A: Yes. During the outpatient surgical procedure a small amount of your own blood is drawn out via the IV. This blood is then placed in the growth factor centrifuge machine and spun down. In less than fifteen minutes, the growth factors are formed and ready to use.

Q: Should BEGF be used in all bone-grafting cases?
A: Not always. In some cases, there is no need for BEGF. However, in the majority of cases, application of blood enhanced growth factors to the graft will increase the final amount of bone present, in addition to making the wound heal faster and more efficiently.

Q: Will my insurance cover the costs?
A: Unfortunately, the cost of the blood enhanced growth factor application (approx. $400) is paid by the patient.

Q: Can blood enhanced growth factors be used alone to stimulate bone formation?
A: No. Blood enhanced growth factors must be mixed with either the patient’s own bone, a bone substitute material, such as demineralized freeze-dried bone or a synthetic bone product, such as BIO-OSS.

Q: Are there any contraindications to blood enhanced growth factors?
A: There are very few. Obviously, patients with bleeding disorders or hematologic diseases do not qualify for this in-office procedure.

In your consultation with Dr. Vendetti, he can explain the possible benefits of platelet rich plasma as it relates to your needs. Contact Virginia Surgical Arts to learn more about blood enhanced growth factors and how it may be used as a part of your treatment.