Animal Stem Cell Therapy for Greensboro, NC

Our veterinary clinic now offers animal stem cell therapy for pets that may benefit from the treatment. We are very excited to provide this cutting-edge therapy to our patients! Using MediVet, we can offer in-house stem cell therapy for pets throughout the Greensboro, NC area.

Adipose Stem Cell Therapy is a novel treatment which is currently indicated for arthritis, hip dysplasia, joint pain, cartilage damage, ligament damage, and injured tendons. There are many other disease processes which are currently undergoing research for the application of stem cell therapy.

Adult stem cell therapy works by taking stem cells from excess fat, processing them and sterilizing them to eliminate any bacteria, then injecting them back into the patient by intravenous and intraarticular (joint) injection. Only one surgical session is required for the extraction of fat, followed by a brief anesthesia session in early afternoon for joint injections, and your pet goes home the same day! We do require work-up before the day of treatment to verify that your pet is otherwise healthy and stable enough for anesthesia.

Please keep reading to learn about the approved applications for adult stem cell therapy, safety protocols required prior to the stem cell procedure, adipose derived stem cell harvest and protocol, conditions that may disqualify a pet from receiving adult stem cell therapy, and special conditions that may qualify for "rescue" stem cell therapy.

1. Approved applications for Adipose-derived Adult Stem Cell therapy:

• Osteoarthritis of the hip (dysplasia), knee, shoulder, elbow (dysplasia), and normal cartilage wear confirmed by x-ray or arthroscopy.
  
• Partial tears of tendons and ligaments or cartilage damage.
  
• Polyarthritis (immune mediated arthritis of multiple joints)
  

2. Safety protocols for anesthesia and surgical procedures:

• Pets undergoing stem cell therapy should have a recent physical exam indicating overall good health, current diagnostic x-rays with cancer check of chest and abdomen, complete blood count and chemistry profile, thyroid function test, urinalysis and a negative occult heartworm test with Ehrlichia/Lyme’s. Any abnormalities could adversely affect the outcome and effectiveness of the stem cell treatment.

3. Procedure for Adult Stem Cell Therapy:

• Your pet is anesthetized using standard procedure, an IV catheter is placed, adipose tissue is harvested from umbilical fat or behind the shoulder, and your pet recovers from anesthesia.
  
• Stem cells are concentrated and activated in our own laboratory. Then, after your pet is lightly sedated, your pet’s own stem cells are injected intravenously and into the affected joints to begin the regenerative healing process.
  

4. Conditions that disqualify a pet from receiving stem cell therapy:

• Cancer or tumor of unknown origin
  
• Active systemic infection (the stem cells given intravenously could be diverted to area of infection instead of the arthritic joints).
  

5. Current conditions that are under investigation for "Rescue" stem cell therapy:

• Degenerative neurological disorders, degenerative myelopathy, diabetic neuropathy, spinal cord or nerve damage
  
• Any inflammatory organ disease of the heart, liver, kidney, oral cavity of the cat, inflammatory bowel disease, poorly controlled allergic dermatitis. Special needs cases must have approval from the Medivet clinical development program for organ stem cell regeneration therapy.
  

Want more information?  Please check out these pages:  Stem Cell Therapy FAQs and What to Expect  during stem cell therapy.