Library: Article

Title: Vet Stem Treatment
Date: 11/11/08

Detail: New Stem Cell Treatment for Pets Aids Healing after Surgery and
Improves Function in Arthritic Pets (www.vet-stem.com)

There is now available a stem cell treatment that offers new hope for pets that experience painful osteoarthritis or who experience poor healing of bone, tendon, and ligament injuries.  Vet-Stem therapy (see website at www.vetstem.com) can even help pets that, so far, have been unresponsive to other treatment modalities.  Veterinary Surgical Centers of the Delta’s board-certified surgeons perform this procedure on a referral basis.

This service is rapidly gaining popularity and demand amongst our clientele and has been featured across the country in several recent newscasts, press releases, and national publications.  As client-driven industry improvements continue to grow, regenerative cell therapy is a rapidly-evolving and refined treatment option.  Through regenerative medicine, we can offer pets improved length and quality of life by restoring, maintaining and enhancing tissue function.

Regenerative medicine seeks to develop functional cell, tissue and organ substitutes to repair, replace or enhance biological function that has been lost due to injury, disease or aging.  Major indications for stem cell therapy include current unsatisfactory therapy for degenerative conditions such as osteoarthritis, and diminished recovery of bone, tendon and ligament trauma.  Goals include the maximization of strength, range of motion and quality of life with the concurrent reduction of scarring, pain or future disease development or progression.

Stem cells operate by a variety of mechanisms, producing growth factors and providing anti-inflammatory effects, tissue differentiation properties, migration to injury sites and modulation of the immune system. 

Harvested adipose tissue is processed to provide fresh cell treatment with any excess cells being banked for potential future use.  On return to the clinic, these cells are injected intravenously and/or locally into a variety of sites including elbow, shoulder, hip and knee joints.  Both pet owners and veterinarians report mild to marked improvement in lameness examination scores after treatment with stem cell therapy!

We are primarily utilizing this therapy for the treatment of chronic osteoarthritis; however, it is also gaining increasing popularity as an adjunct to orthopedic surgery to speed healing and improve overall operative results.  Stem cell collection is easily incorporated into a standard pre-surgical work-up and its administration is easily and quickly performed post-operatively.  We are very excited about the potential this procedure has to improve the quality and length of life for pets.  Please contact us to order a complementary packet of more information about regenerative medicine and how you could use this service within your facility.