My own dog at home is 12 years old and has had surgery on both of her knees during her life. She now has arthritis in her hips and elbows as well as both of her knee joints. It is a chore to just keep her comfortable. Currently she takes an anti-inflammatory, fish oils, and glucosamine daily and tramadol on bad days. We have tried acupuncture but it didn’t seem to work on her. At this point I am willing to try just about anything to make her more comfortable.
Recently a California based company called Vet-Stem Inc. has been using stem cells derived from the animal’s own fat to help their joints feel young again. Stem cells are precursor cells that can divide and become many different types of specialty cells. What Vet-Stem is able to do is take fat that has been surgically harvested from an animal’s back and isolate the stem cells. The cells are then returned to the veterinarian two days later in the form of concentrated regenerative stem cells that can be injected back into the pet. Unfortunately this procedure doesn’t come cheap. It can cost between $2500-$3500 for the anesthesia, harvesting of the fat, sending it to Vet-Stem, and then injecting it back into the pet. If multiple injections are needed it usually costs less than half of the original price because there are usually stem cells left over.
This new option in therapy can give owners the ability to make their pets more comfortable and keep them around longer. If you would like to find a veterinarian in your area that performs this procedure go to www.vetstem.com and click on “locate a vet”.
–Dr. Wohlwend
———————
Dr. Wohlwend is a small animal veterinarian in Renton, WA and a regular contributor to Wag Reflex.

No comments:
Post a Comment