Stem Cell Therapy
Stem Cell Therapy is an exciting new procedure offered at Animal Veterinary Hospital of Orlando. Stem Cell Therapy is a relatively painless process that like most of our other surgeries can be done in a single day. Our hospital uses stem cells extracted from adipose tissue, more commonly known as fat. Because the stem cells are extracted from the patient’s own adipose tissue there is no chance of rejection.
The process begins with drawing blood from the pet and processing it to create Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP). As a concentrated source of autologous platelets, PRP contains several different growth factors and other cytokines that can stimulate healing of the soft tissue.
The Doctor will perform a routine surgery to remove a small section of fat from the pet's shoulder region. This fat is then transferred to a sterile lab within our hospital for processing alongside the PRP. The fat is broken down through a series of intricate procedures with MediVet proprietary solutions. The process will generally take four to five hours from start to finish. The final product is a mixture of PRP and concentrated stem cells. For pet's being treated with arthritis or similar maladies, the mixture is separated by the attending technician and administered directly into the joints by Dr. Bruce.
Stem Cell Banking is a feature that is available to you as well. Banking is saving the unused portion of stem cells at an off-site facility for future use. Should there be any signs of regression in the pet's arthritis, we can have those cells delivered back to us and will be reconstituted by our technicians here at AVHO. This banking process will prevent your pet from having to undergo further surgery to obtain new stem cells. If you do you not wish to bank the cells, we will not throw away any additional stem cells in the original procedure. After administering the doses into each joint the excess cells will be injected back into the pet's bloodstream to help in the healing process.
Banking can also be done during routine spay/neuter surgery for future use in animals prone to arthritic changes later in life. The stem cells are not affected by duration of storage.
We are very excited about the potential for healing and treatment that this therapy offers our patients. If this is something that you think might be beneficial to your pet, call us at (407) 855-7387 to set up a consultation with Dr. Bruce. We will continue to update our website http://myavho.com/ in our blog section and on our Facebook page with more information. Or you can visit http://medivetbiologics.com/home/pet-owners/faq/ for additional information.
Written by Ryan Ross Edited by Dr. Bruce Bogoslavsky. January, 20 2017