New Arthritis Treatment . . . Is It Right for Your Pet?
Advances in scientific research have led to a way to help dogs and cats with certain types of arthritic or inflammatory changes. By removing fat from your pet, adult stem cells (not to be confused with stem cells from embryos) can be removed and then injected back into your pet. These stem cells are cells that can become other types of connective tissue cells: bone, cartilage, tendon, ligament or even muscle. These stem cells from your dog's fat help to reduce inflammation and scarring of affected joints, help control the pain of the arthritis and control progression of future disease, and increase the strength and range of motion of the joint. Fat is removed because it contains a high number of undifferentiated cells, stem cells, more than can be found in bone marrow, and fat is easy to access.
Once fat is collected it is sent to a lab in California for processing. The stem cells are removed from the fat and sent back to the clinic. The stem cells are injected into the joint (or into fracture sites to help with bone healing). Typically improvement can be seen as soon as 2 weeks after injection with a full response expected by 3 months after injection.
Of animals receiving stem cell injections, 75% of animals will return to full function, 20% of animals will show some improvement but 5% will show no improvement at all. It is important that before considering this procedure that your pet has blood work to rule out underlying disease and a thorough work up to evaluate arthritic joint(s).
This process is not inexpensive; the cost for collection, processing and injection is from $2000 to $2500. This type of therapy is not for all arthritic pets. The cost alone makes it cost prohibitive for many. But for some pets the cost of the therapy can offset future costs of pain medication and give the pet back comfort and quality of life. If you are interested in learning more, please inquire at the office.
Dr. Noelle Weeks