Most of you are probably aware of joint replacement procedures in humans as well as in dogs. You may have heard of total hip replacement in dogs, a surgical procedure used to improve the quality of life in dogs with hip dysplasia and osteoarthritis. A much less common procedure in dogs is ankle replacement. Recently, a dog underwent total ankle replacement at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine’s Small Animal Hospital and became the first canine to have the procedure in Florida.
Small Animal Veterinary Surgery
Leo Gets a New Ankle
The patient was Leo, a seven-year-old Lab, who was experiencing lameness as a result of severe hock (ankle) arthritis. His surgeon, Dr. Stanley Kim, is one of only twelve veterinary surgeons worldwide who are trained in the surgical technique. According to UF, “The procedure involved replacing the damaged surfaces of his joint with a prosthetic implant known as the TATE Ankle, developed by BioMedtrix. The procedure is currently in clinical evaluation at a limited number of centers around the world.”
After the procedure, Leo went through a lengthy recovery period. It was about three months before he was cleared to work towards his preoperative lifestyle. Fortunately, he had a smooth recovery. And approximately five months after the procedure, Leo is back to hiking and playing fetch! You can watch a little video about Leo and his procedure here.
Stem Cell Therapy with Joint Replacement
You may be wondering, “What does this have to do with stem cell therapy?!” While joint replacement is both extensive and expensive, sometimes it is the best course of treatment for dogs with severe arthritis. At VetStem, one of our goals is to encourage veterinarians and their clients to consider stem cell therapy for arthritic dogs before the need for joint replacement arises. Of course, that is not always easy, and some cases are so bad, joint replacement may be their only option to live a normal life.
When joint replacement is deemed the best treatment option, we like to remind dog owners that stem cell therapy can be a great addition to surgery. Using stem cell therapy in conjunction with surgery may lead to reduced healing time, less pain, and less scar tissue formation. To learn more, read this previous blog about using stem cell therapy in conjunction with surgery.
If you are interested in VetStem Cell Therapy for your pet, click here to find a provider near you.
In this week’s blog, we are sharing Bella’s story. Bella, a pit bull, was approximately twelve years old when she received VetStem Cell Therapy. She was previously diagnosed with Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD) and pain medication, unfortunately, brought her little relief.
Intervertebral Disc Disease
IVDD is a condition in which one or several intervertebral discs in the spine bulge, resulting in pressure on the spinal cord. This pressure may result in extreme pain and possibly loss of limb function. IVDD can be a result of chronic disc degeneration or from an acute injury. Conservative treatment with pain medications and anti-inflammatories may help patients who have a gradual onset of symptoms or whose symptoms are mild. In severe cases or when there are repeated episodes, surgery may be recommended.
Bella, receiving an intravenous injection of her own stem cells via VetStem Cell Therapy
Bella’s mom, a veterinary technician at Fort Lee Animal Clinic, noticed that Bella stopped jumping on and off furniture and was restless and unable to sleep comfortably at night. After researching her options, she decided to have Bella treated with her own stem cells. Dr. Nazar Pereymybida at Fort Lee Animal Clinic agreed that Bella may benefit from stem cell therapy and Bella became his first stem cell case.
Treatment with VetStem Cell Therapy
To begin the process, Dr. Pereymybida collected fat tissue from Bella’s abdomen in a minimally invasive anesthetic procedure. The fat was aseptically packaged and shipped to the VetStem laboratory in Poway, California. Once received, VetStem lab technicians processed the fat to extract and concentrate Bella’s stem and regenerative cells. Stem cell injections were prepared and shipped back to Dr. Pereymybida. Approximately 48 hours after the initial fat collection procedure, Bella received multiple injections of her own stem cells along her paraspinal muscles as well as intravenously.
Stem cell treatment of IVDD falls under VetStem’s clinical research program for canine back pain. This program is designed to evaluate the safety and potential effectiveness of stem cells for numerous canine back conditions.
Results
Approximately two months after receiving VetStem Cell Therapy, Bella’s owner reported that her symptoms had improved! Though Bella was still on pain medications, her owner stated, “She’s now jumping on and off the bed and seems less painful and more energetic.” In addition, Bella was able to sleep comfortably through the entire night.
Unfortunately, Bella was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. Her condition progressed rapidly and she crossed over the rainbow bridge.
While there is still more to learn about using VetStem Cell Therapy to treat canine IVDD, Bella’s case is not the only positive outcome reported. You may remember Bailee’s story from a while ago. He also received VetStem Cell Therapy for IVDD after an injury to his neck. And like Bella, Bailee also experienced a reduction in pain after treatment.
If your dog has IVDD or another painful back condition, speak to your veterinarian about the possibility of treatment with VetStem Cell Therapy. Since these conditions develop for different reasons, the stem cell protocol and outcome can vary for each dog. Any inquiries regarding treatment of similar conditions or other non-standard indications should be directed to VetStem personnel.
July 15th is National I Love Horses Day. To show our love of horses, we thought we’d share some of the VetStem employee horses in this week’s blog.
As most of you know, VetStem Cell Therapy was used in horses first, followed by dogs and later, cats. The first ever VetStem patient was a racehorse that was treated for a tendon injury that would have normally been career-ending. Since then, over 6,000 horses have had their stem cells processed at VetStem.
Horses most commonly receive stem cell treatment for tendon and ligament injuries, as well as joint issues. But some have received VetStem Cell Therapy for other conditions such as exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage and uveitis under our clinical development department. But that’s enough from us. Now meet some of our employees’ horses!
Libby
Valor
Libby is owned by our Safety and Technical Services Veterinarian, Dr. Amber Vibert. According to Dr. Vibert, Libby is the trifecta- she’s got brains, brawn, and beauty. Libby has only been with Dr. Vibert for just over a month. You may remember last week’s blog about Dr. Vibert’s horse Valor, who unfortunately had to be put down earlier this year. Dr. Vibert describes Valor as the sweetest boy, especially with children.
Cheddar
Joey
Cheddar and Joey are owned by our customer service manager, Veronika Graydon. See what Veronika has to say about her beloved horses: Chester aka Cheddar is my daughter’s retired Criollo polo pony from Uruguay. He is a sweet 27-year-old soul who I think is truly grateful for his now very easy life. Joey is my 14-year-old Friesian Percheron mare who I have had since she was born. She has no idea that she is a giant horse (no concept of personal space) and will do anything I ask of her with a willing spirit. They are BFFs and provide me with daily comic relief.
Hello VetStemmers! It’s Dr. Amber Vibert here and I’ve taken over the blog again. In honor of it being National Farriers Week, I’d like to share with you a horse hoof case that is near and dear to my heart. The patient was my own 25-year-old, Thoroughbred horse named Valor. Valor came to me as a senior 5 years ago. He had some mild arthritis in his hocks (rear limb “ankles”), and he had back and neck stiffness that likely came from being trained as a racehorse and then a show horse in his early years. However, the condition for which I treated him with VetStem Cell Therapy remains somewhat of an enigma.
Valor
Valor’s Hoof Infections
About 3 years into owning him, he developed a deep, severe, focal infection on the underside of both of his rear hooves. Each area measured about the size of a dime in diameter and were deep enough to expose the underlying soft tissue that bled really easily when touched. The infection and inflammation extended into his heels and was super painful for him. Around this time, he also displayed reduced healing capacity for scrapes and cuts on his limbs. Now, older horses are prone to delayed healing and weaker immune system responses as a result of certain metabolic conditions, but sometimes it is the natural progression of the aging process, not unlike elderly humans. So, the first thing I did was I had him examined by his equine veterinarian. Yes, I’m a veterinarian, but my 16 years of clinical practice prior to joining VetStem was working with small animals. Horses are very different from dogs and cats!
Diagnostics and Treatments
We took x-rays of his hooves and found no evidence of a foreign body (i.e., no nails or other penetrating objects) and no draining tracts. We tested Valor for metabolic diseases, immune system diseases and infectious diseases, all of which were negative. I always made sure his living area was clean and dry. We examined and adjusted his nutrition to make sure it was balanced and providing him with appropriate ratios of proteins, carbs, vitamins, and minerals. We also took culture swabs of the focal lesions in his hooves and found a particular type of bacteria in those lesions that could be a factor. But honestly, my veterinarian was stumped as to the underlying cause. I got a second and third opinion with other veterinarians and each had their theories, but none could pinpoint a definitive cause either. So, I treated him for months with an intense regimen of oral and topical antibiotics as well as pain meds in addition to the prescription anti-inflammatory medication he was already taking for his arthritis.
Of course, I got his farrier involved as well. He too, was unsure of the nature of these wounds, as he had never seen anything like it. We tried different podiatric options such as therapeutic shoeing, hoof pads, hoof packing, regular shoeing, and no shoeing at all. I spent countless hours as directed, caring for his feet- picking, washing, soaking, medicating etc. I used Platelet Therapy locally a couple of times- I saturated medical cotton pads with his platelet concentrate (created through the Genesis CS-2 Platelet Rich Plasma Kit) and packed it into the deep lesions. It helped for a short period of time, but it was too labor intensive to do consistently. Despite all of his treatments and the heroic efforts of his wonderful farrier, the improvement was minimal.
Treatment with VetStem Cell Therapy
Then in December 2020 I collected fat tissue from an area on his rump for stem cell processing. He didn’t have a huge cell yield, so we only had one stem cell dose to start with and the rest we grew in cell culture to create more doses. He received his first injection immediately following processing via a regional perfusion (RP) injection in his lower right rear leg. Regional perfusion is an injection into a vein with a tourniquet around the limb above the injection site. The tourniquet stays on for about 30 min after the injection to allow the cells (or other drugs) to be delivered to, and stay concentrated in, all parts of the limb below it. Then approximately 4 and 8 weeks later he received doses in both rear legs, also by RP injection.
The rationale for using stem cell therapy was to reduce inflammation, reduce pain, enhance his immune system’s ability to heal, and provide antibacterial/antifungal properties to his hooves. The only other treatments he received during the time of his stem cell therapy were pain medications and daily hoof cleaning. It was so hard to be patient waiting for the cells to do their thing! But 3 months after his initial treatment, I began to see a dramatic change. The difference was amazing! As you can see from the pictures, between December 2020 and March 2021 his hoof soles became stronger, his heals were no longer swollen and painful, and the focal lesions became significantly smaller.
Sadly, we did not get a chance to see his hoof condition through to complete resolution as I had to put him down in April 2021 due to an unrelated, fast-progressing condition. However, VetStem Cell Therapy provided him with much healthier and more comfortable feet for the last few months of his life. And for this, I will be eternally grateful.
Recently, another wave of veterinary students graduated with their Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from vet schools across the United States. Our own Dr. Harman is a graduate of the prestigious University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. One of his former classmates and experienced VetStem user, Dr. Bernadine Cruz of Laguna Hills Animal Hospital, was invited to be the keynote speaker at the 2021 commencement ceremony for new graduates of UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Cruz discusses the many directions one can take with a DVM degree. Early in her speech, she references Dr. Harman and his path to become a veterinary regenerative medicine entrepreneur!
We truly look forward to sharing our regenerative medicine knowledge and technology with the new DVM graduates! Click the picture below to check out the commencement ceremony and Dr. Cruz’s speech.
