This week’s success story is about a beautiful Sheltie, Lady.  Lady suffered from arthritis since she was about two years old.  At eight years old, Lady tore her cruciate ligament and required surgical repair of the ligament.  Her veterinarian, Dr. Jeff Christiansen of Superior Veterinary Surgical Solutions, recommended Lady undergo stem cell therapy to help treat her arthritis and also to expedite healing and reduce scar tissue formation in her surgically repaired knee.  Lady received injections of her own stem cells in both carpi (wrists) along with her left hip and left stifle (knee).

Lady’s owner reported that after stem cell therapy she was able to go for longer walks and is “far more playful than she was before the stem cell treatment.”

To read the rest of Lady’s story, click here.

Does your dog suffer from pain, lameness, or discomfort?  Has your dog been diagnosed with arthritis or injured tendons or ligaments that may be slowing him/her down?  If so, contact VetStem to find VetStem providers in your area.

It is estimated that 1 in 5 dogs in the United States suffers from osteoarthritis (OA).  OA can present itself in many ways including stiffness, lameness, pain, and limited range of motion.  If your dog is exhibiting any symptoms that may be caused by arthritis, it is best to consult with your veterinarian about all of your treatment options, including stem cell therapy.

You may have seen our many success stories from actual VetStem Regenerative Cell Therapy patients and wondered, “Would my dog benefit from this treatment?”  Or you may find yourself at the end of the road with supplements, pain medications, and/or diet changes and wondering if there are alternatives to these traditional therapies that may be more effective.  Whatever your situation may be, it is always best to research all of your options before deciding which therapy to proceed with.  In this blog, we will help you discuss stem cell therapy with your veterinarian for your arthritic canine companion.

VetStem cell therapy has been used to treat canine arthritis since 2008.  As a newer, more progressive therapy, it is not often at the forefront of your veterinarian’s mind when it comes to first-line treatments for arthritis.  Why, you might ask?  The answer is that only about 10% of practicing veterinarians have advanced training in regenerative medicine and even recent veterinary graduates have had limited exposure to regenerative stem cell medicine.  While VetStem works diligently to change this statistic, don’t be afraid to bring up VetStem cell therapy to your veterinarian if they don’t suggest it first!  Below you will find some resources to help you speak with your veterinarian about stem cell therapy which can help determine if your dog might benefit from the treatment.

First, you may want to print this letter to bring to your vet appointment, in case your veterinarian is not familiar with VetStem cell therapy.  If your veterinarian asks for evidence to support the use of stem cells for treatment of arthritis, you can reference this study which demonstrated the effectiveness of stem cell therapy in the treatment of canine arthritis of the hip.  We also have a study that evaluated stem cell therapy for the treatment of elbow arthritis in dogs.  If your veterinarian has heard of or has used VetStem cell therapy before, inquire as to whether or not he/she thinks your dog may be a good candidate for the therapy.  You can utilize this checklist to help answer this question.  Lastly, let your veterinarian know that our staff veterinarians are available to help answer any questions about stem cell therapy or about specific patients.  They can simply contact us to learn more.

Best of luck and congratulations for taking the initiative to explore stem cell therapy for your canine companion!

I am always thrilled to hear success stories from owners and am excited to be able to share with you Whisper’s story.

“Seven years old and she’s still kicking butt and taking names! Two osteotomies, two surgeries, two stem cell therapies… AMAZING, this little dog!!!”

That’s what Elise recently commented on her now-7-year-old Australian Cattle Dog, on Whisper’s banking renewal form.  Here at Vet-Stem we bank stem cells for future uses.  Whisper was a very special case, done way back in 2009.  She received stem cell therapy, after multiple surgeries and significant pain medications failed to provide relief. This relief lasted for 2 years when she had another treatment using some of her stored stem cells. Read the rest of this entry »

Human stem cell therapy succeeds!  As part of providing insights into the world of dog arthritis, I think it is useful for you to see what all is happening in the human stem cell world.  Crohn’s disease is a horrible auto-immune disease where the lower GI tract is being attacked by the person’s own immune system.  A group in Spain has been working for a number of years treating patients with this disease with adipose stem cell therapy.  There is a great report of clinical trial you should all see (link: Crohn’s Trial Results) where more than half of these patients had a great response to being treated with adipose stem cells.  There are so many new trials around the world using stem cell from fat tissue that it is hard to keep up with the literature.  Proudly, I believe that the success with using adipose stem cells to treat dog arthritis, like Tucker’s Story,  has helped generate interest and to show the safety of this type of therapy.

I am always very proud of the Vet-Stem team, but as I write
this I am especially proud of the accomplishment announced last week, “Vet-Stem
Reaches the Milestone of 8,000 Animals Treated with Vet-Stem Cell Therapy”.

There are more than 8,000 of our beloved with less pain,
less stiffness, the ability to run, play, and return to what they love to
do.  There are more than 8,000 animal
friends who enjoy life again after using their own bodies’ natural healing
abilities.

It takes a team to do what we do:  Veterinarians, RVTs, Caring Customer Service
Reps, Scientists, Professional Laboratory Technicians, you get the idea.  Vet-Stem has compiled a phenomenal team to
bring our patients cutting edge Regenerative Veterinary Medicine, and I am so
proud of the Vet-Stem Team and can’t wait to continue to deliver the care our
companions deserve.

We are always pleased to hear happy stories of our patients. Below is the story of Hannah and how stem cell therapy helped her to overcome arthritis pain so that she could continue to serve others.

“Our Border Collie, Hannah, has hip dysplasia and our orthopedic vet Dr. Pam Nichols, at Animal Care Center K-9 Rehab Center, told us both hips were equally bad ….some of the worst she’d ever seen (hip dysplasia is one of the leading causes of arthritis in dogs). She was afraid Hannah would have to have both hips replaced to ensure a long active life; but suggested that we try stem cells first. Hannah used to use her front paws to pull herself up at times after a lot of running or play and the arthritis was very invasive. She was not making any extra trips upstairs and was unable to even stand on her hind legs. Read the rest of this entry »

A June 2011 article written in Cottage Dog Magazine called Stem Cell Therapy for Dogs highlights Thomas, a Dogue de Bordeaux, whose owner, Kira, is a sales representative and registered veterinary technician for Avivagen Animal Health. Thomas is afflicted with osteochondrosis (OCD) and dysplasia in both elbows. After receiving orthopedic surgery for his OCD, he is now undergoing VetStem RC stem cell therapy provided by Vet-Stem’s affiliate Avivagen in Canada. To read Thomas’ story and how Avivagen is helping treat dogs in Canada with stem cell therapy click here.

When making a decision on stem cell therapy for your companion, it is important to understand the process a bit, especially the process of storage of the extra cells for the future.  If your dog or cat is being treated for arthritis, it is likely that they will need additional treatments in future years for the arthritis or for other conditions.  One single collection of fat by your veterinarian provides for a lifetime of stem cells for your dog.  The Vet-Stem lab stores (banks) stem cells in a cryopreservation system that provides for safe storage of stem cells that can last the lifetime of your dog.  In most cases there are enough cells stored so that your dog can be treated one or more times from stored cells.  This way there is no need to do another surgical collection of fat (which decreases anesthesia risk and cost).  The first year of storage is free. Vet-Stem will then notify you as the owner/caretaker when it is time to renew the contract for storage of the stem cells. Read the rest of this entry »

The letter below came to us from a dog owner who is now enjoying her dog Whisper, after multiple surgeries and significant pain medications failed to provide relief.

 “Clearly someone has forgotten their birthday…  At 3 years old Whisper has returned to her puppy self!

 Diagnosed with elbow dysplasia at age 2, Whisper had gone from an effortlessly athletic agility and flyball dog to a closet-hiding pup in less than six months.  Nothing we did helped.  She endured surgery, medication and physio but it was so clear that her quality days were winding down.   I wasn’t sure she would make her 3^rd birthday.

 Somehow we made the leap to do more surgery and include stem cell therapy.  Adding stem cell therapy to orthopedic surgery was AMAZING!  Read the rest of this entry »

Stem cell therapy has been available to veterinarians and the dog, cat and horse owners of Canada for more than four years.  Vet-Stem has been proud to be the supplier and we have many strong friendships with Canadian vets and owners.  But last year, a Canadian Company, Avivagen, came to us and wanted to become the Canadian provider of Vet-Stem services with a laboratory located in Canada.  Read the rest of this entry »