In honor of National Golden Retriever Day, we are sharing a VetStem success story about a Golden Retriever named Makalia. At a young age, Makalia was diagnosed with bilateral elbow dysplasia. At approximately two-years-old, Makalia underwent elbow arthroscopy in her left leg, which was the worst of the two. Despite the procedure, Makalia would limp on and off. Her owners managed her pain with medication for several years.

When Makalia was eight years old, she began limping on her right front leg more. The limp got progressively worse and eventually she became completely lame on that leg. After laser therapy didn’t help, Makalia’s veterinarian, Dr. Adam Gassel, recommended arthroscopy on the right elbow in addition to treatment with VetStem Cell Therapy on both elbows.

To begin the process, Dr. Gassel collected fat tissue from Makalia’s abdomen in a minimally invasive anesthetic procedure. At the same time, he performed arthroscopy on her right elbow. Her fat tissue was shipped to the VetStem processing lab where it was processed to extract and concentrate the stem and regenerative cells contained therein. Three injectable doses of Makalia’s stem cells were shipped back to Dr. Gassel. Approximately 48 hours after the initial fat collection procedure, Makalia received an injection of her own stem cells into each elbow as well as intravenously.

In a 90 day follow up evlauation, Makalia’s owners noted that she was no longer lame. Her stiffness, pain, and energy level had improved and she was no longer having problems walking or jumping. Her owner stated, “I didn’t realize how much pain she was in because now she is a new dog. Happier and playful again.”

Unfortunately, Golden Retrievers are among the breeds that have a higher likelihood of being diagnosed with joint dysplasia and osteoarthritis. The good news is, VetStem Cell Therapy can help to reduce pain and inflammation associated with OA and can even lead to the regeneration of healthy cartilage tissue.

If you think your pet may benefit from VetStem Cell Therapy, speak to your veterinarian or click here to receive a list of VetStem providers near you.