$850
Selphyl PRFM
Dr. Sabeen Munib, MD
About 45 minutes
Common
Overview
Under-Eye PRP and PRFM in Irvine
Under-eye PRP and PRFM use a preparation made from your own blood, placed into the tear trough area to work on the quality of the skin itself.
That is a different aim from filler. Hyaluronic acid filler adds volume to a hollow. A platelet preparation does not add volume in any meaningful way, and if the hollow is genuinely volumetric this is the wrong treatment.
Which one suits you depends on whether the darkness comes from a shadow cast by lost volume, from thin skin showing what lies beneath, or from pigment. Those have different answers, and sometimes the honest answer is neither treatment.
Read this first
Most Under-Eye Complaints Are Not One Problem
Patients arrive asking about dark circles, and dark circles are a description rather than a diagnosis. The shadow can come from lost volume, from skin thin enough to show the vessels beneath, from pigment sitting in the skin, or from a fat pad casting a line. Those need different treatments, and one of them is not treated with a platelet preparation at all.
That assessment happens before anything is drawn. If the hollow is volumetric, hyaluronic acid filler is the honest answer and Dr. Munib will say so, even though it means a different treatment from the one you asked about. If the skin is thin and crepey, PRFM is a reasonable option. If the problem is pigment, neither is the first move.
When PRFM is right, the preparation used here is Selphyl. Blood is drawn into buffered sodium citrate, spun, then activated with calcium chloride so the material sets into a fibrin gel before placement. Dr. Sabeen Munib, MD does the draw, the preparation and the injection.
The under-eye is the least forgiving area on the face for injectable work. The tissue is thin, the anatomy sits close to the surface, and there is little room for a placement error to hide. That is the argument for a physician doing it, not a preference.
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One case, read closely
Under-Eye PRFM in a Mature Patient
Under-eye treated with Selphyl PRFM by Dr. Sabeen Munib, MD at Spectrum Skin Clinic, Irvine.
Look at the quality of the skin over the orbital rim rather than at the depth of the hollow. PRFM changes how the skin reflects light. If the shadow were coming from lost volume rather than thin skin, this is not the treatment that would correct it.
See All Results
How the session runs
What Happens on the Day
Assessment
Establish what is actually causing the darkness
Blood draw
Collect the sample
Preparation
Activate the fibrin matrix
Placement
Deliver into the tear trough
About 45 minutes
Most patients need more than one session, decided after seeing the response to the first
Real patients
Under-Eye PRP and PRFM Before and After
Every result below was treated personally by Dr. Sabeen Munib, MD at Spectrum Skin Clinic, Irvine.
How Under-Eye PRFM Works
Blood is drawn into a tube containing buffered sodium citrate and centrifuged. For Selphyl PRFM the platelet portion moves to a second tube containing calcium chloride, which reverses the citrate and converts fibrinogen into fibrin. The material sets over about ten minutes into a gel that holds the platelets.
Selphyl is therefore not anticoagulant free. It begins as PRP and is activated into a matrix, then placed into the tear trough area.
Regenerative and volumetric are different problems
Hyaluronic acid filler occupies space. It corrects a hollow because it has volume of its own.
A platelet preparation does not work that way. It is placed to influence the quality of the tissue, and if the shadow under your eye comes from lost volume rather than thin skin, this will disappoint you. Getting that distinction right matters more than the choice of preparation.
Laboratory work describes a slower release from a fibrin matrix than from liquid PRP. We do not claim that guarantees a better outcome for any individual.
Regenerative or volumetric
Which Under-Eye Problem You Have
The commonest mistake is treating a volume problem with a skin quality treatment, or the reverse.
Combined approaches
What It Is Sequenced With
Under-eye problems are often more than one thing at once.
Candidacy
Who May Be a Candidate
This suits people who want to improve the skin under the eye without adding filler, or who have decided against a hyaluronic acid product for this area.
It is not suitable during active infection near the eye, with certain blood disorders, or while anticoagulated. Some patients are better served by filler, and a few by neither.
How Dr. Munib decides
Whether the darkness is a shadow from lost volume, thin skin showing the vasculature beneath, or pigment. Those have different answers, the assessment comes before any recommendation, and if filler is the better answer she will say so.
Likely a good fit
Thin or crepey under-eye skin, mild texture change, and patients who have decided against filler in this area.
Where it is limited
A true hollow needs volume, not this. Puffiness and prominent fat pads get worse with added material. Darkness that comes from pigment rather than thin skin is treated on a different pathway. Bruising here is common and should be planned around.
What happens
What to Expect
Bruising here is common and can last several days. If you have an event coming up, book with that in mind rather than hoping it settles quickly.
Risks
Risks and Side Effects
The under-eye is an unforgiving area. That is the reason a physician does the injection.
Bruising
Common here. Plan around events rather than hoping.
Swelling
Usual for the first day or two and occasionally longer.
Lumps or irregularity
Uncommon and usually settles. Placement and depth matter.
Infection
Rare. Sterile preparation and handling are why.
Little or no visible change
Possible, particularly where the real problem is volume or pigment rather than skin quality.
Regulatory status
Platelet preparation devices are cleared for blood separation. Use in the under-eye area is off label. That is lawful physician practice, not a clearance for this purpose.
Bruising likelihood and realistic outcomes are covered before the first session.
Why a physician injects this area
The tissue under the eye is thin, the anatomy is shallow and the margin for error is small. That is the argument for a physician doing the injection rather than delegating it.
Platelet preparation devices are cleared for blood separation. Use in the under-eye area is off label, which is lawful physician practice and not a clearance for this purpose.
Aftercare
Cost
What Affects Your Cost
Under-eye PRFM using Selphyl gel is $850 per session.
Most patients need more than one session. The number is discussed after Dr. Munib has seen how your skin responds to the first, rather than sold as a package in advance.
Pay monthly with
What to expect
How Long Does the Result Last?
When it works, the area looks less tired rather than filled. Skin looks a little thicker and the hollow reads less sharply because the surface has improved.
It does not eliminate under-eye darkness in most people, and anyone promising that is overselling it. Results are gradual, they vary, and they are not permanent.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Hyaluronic-acid filler adds volume beneath the skin. A platelet preparation is used with the aim of improving skin quality. Some patients are candidates for one, some for the other, and some for neither.
Both are available. Spectrum uses Selphyl PRFM for the under-eye area in most cases. Dr. Munib decides which preparation suits the patient.
$850 per session at Spectrum Skin Clinic.
Dr. Sabeen Munib, MD, personally.
Irvine, CA