Arthritic Pets – Regenerative Stem Cell Technology
February 13, 2013The veterinarians at Ku-Ring-Gai Veterinary Hospital, have successfully developed Australia’s first regenerative stem cell therapy programme for small animals that provides significant improvement in pain control, mobility and well being.
- What is Adicell™?
- AdiCell™ procedure
- Assessment
- Stem Cell Harvesting – removing fat tissue from your dog’s abdomen
- Preparing the stem cells for reimplantation
- AdiCell injection into your dog’s arthritic joint
- Care for your dog during and after the procedure
- What to expect in the following weeks
- Results – dog mobility after an AdiCell treatment
What is Adicell™?
AdiCell™ is an effective, natural treatment for osteoarthritis in dogs. AdiCell uses a dogs’ own fat cells to help in arthritic joints, such as a hip or knee. It is a safe procedure that puts to work your dog’s natural regeneration system. Think of these purified cells as your dog’s own emergency repair kit. The improvement in mobility is significant. AdiCell™ treated dogs are healthier and lead more active lives with less reliance on medication.
AdiCell™ procedure
Treating osteoarthritis with the AdiCell procedure involves:
1. Assessment
Initial assessment with one of our veterinarians to discuss the relevant factors which may affect the suitability of this procedure for your dog. Affected joints are determined by a process of examination, history taking, computerised gait analysis, X-rays and Cat-scan.
2. Stem Cell Harvesting – removing fat tissue from your dog’s
abdomen
Taking a sample of subcutaneous fat from your dog is a relatively simple procedure. We require only 15 to 20 grams of fat tissue for the AdiCell treatment. This fat tissue, called adipose tissue, is taken from your dog’s abdomen. The fat can be removed utilising the latest liposuction technology. For liposuction cases the incision is less than 1 cm and does not require stitches. For patients with lower cell yields, we may need to make a small surgical incision to ensure the correct amount of fat is acquired. Three days after the surgery, we recommend you take your dog to your preferred vet for a check up.
3. Preparing the stem cells for reimplantation
Next, a Regeneus technician prepares the AdiCell injection at the on-site Regeneus laboratory. This will take less than 2 hours. Rapid turn around is one of the advantages of AdiCell. Other surgical procedures for osteoarthritis require a much greater time.
4. AdiCell injection into your dog’s arthritic joint
Each arthritic joint requires one AdiCell injection only. The procedure, from anaesthesia to injection, is done on the same day. The fat tissue sample from your dog will be stored securely. We plan that, in time, we may be able to use again any stored material should your dog suffer from osteoarthritis in other joints. This reduces the cost of future treatments.
Care for your dog during and after the procedure
Highly trained veterinary staff take the utmost care to reduce any risk to your pet during the procedure. A range of safety measures are employed to ensure that our patients (which are often aged) are carefully and safely managed. These measures include assessment of concurrent illness, pre-anaesthetic blood testing and the use of the very latest anaesthetic agents and monitoring equipment such as ecg, pulse oximetery, non-invasive blood pressure, indwelling temperature and capnography.
What to expect in the following weeks
First 10 days after AdiCell Dogs treated with AdiCell often develop a general sense of well being in the early stage post treatment. It is important to control overactive behaviour in the early days. To avoid new injuries or damage to treated joints: Reduce your dog’s exercise for the first 10 days Keep your dog on the leash during walks Control jumping and any uncontrolled activity, this includes stairs and wet or smooth floors Avoid any new, physically demanding activities 10 days after treatment Ten days after AdiCell therapy, if your dog’s wound has healed, you can slowly increase physical exercise. For example, build up the length of daily walks. This will reinforce muscle and endurance. Limit any rapid and extended joint motion. Depending on your dog’s level of activity prior to treatment, running, playing, jumping or any unrestricted activity should still be kept under control. Swimming after 1 month Swimming can resume or commence at 1 month after regenerative treatment. Swimming does require rapid joint motion, so it is not recommended until this time. Swimming, however, is a non-weight bearing exercise that will help to build your dog’s muscle strength. Physiotherapy Some dogs may benefit from physiotherapy. A specialised animal physiotherapist can recommend exercises suitable for your pet. These exercises may assist blood flow to an area. Benefits of physiotherapy exercise: Helps the healing process Helps prevent contraction of soft tissue Increases circulation Relieves muscle stiffness May improve muscle tone and strength to support joints
Results – dog mobility after an AdiCell treatment
Results show 100% of dogs improved after an AdiCell™ treatment. The first 33 dogs tested in clinical trials from January to December 2008 all came to Regeneus with osteoarthritis and joint pain. They now enjoy a better quality of life. After 2 months the improvement of mobility was very good on average. By month 6, the average of improvement for these 33 dogs from clinical measurements taken by the treating and referring veterinarians was 84%. An independent survey with dog owners confirmed these results. Dog owners showed 97% total satisfaction 3 months after AdiCell. For more detailed information please call Dr Ross or Dr Geddes from Ku-Ring-Gai Veterinary Hospital on 02 9449 4111 or for further technical information visit http://www.regeneus.com.au/