Adipose Stem Cell Therapy in Pets! - Orchid Board

Wynter010Beauty · #1 08-11-2010, 07:47 PM

Hello pet lovers!
I am a certified veterinary technician in a suburb located 30 minutes outside of Pittsburgh, PA. I currently work at a veterinary hospital that has been doing adipose stem cell procedures for a few years now. Adipose stem cells are regenerative cells derived from the patient's fat that is then injected into joints and intravenously. Adipose stem cells are used to help patients with osteoarthritis, degenerative diseases, and other joint/bone pains. It has even been used to assist in some chronic skin diseases. Stem cells are regenerative cells that help repair damaged tissues. This is a non-controversial procedure because the stem cells are derived from the animal's own fat which is readily available. Previously, we had done the procedure using an outside laboratory which meant that the fat would be sampled on one day, then we would ship it to the outside laboratory where it would be processed. Then 2 days later, we would receive the sample to be injected into the patient. Just recently, we began using a new company from Australia. They ship us the kits and provided us with all of the equipment to do the procedure in-house. We are the first, and so far the only practice in the United States processing it this way. By doing it this way, it has decreased cost, and time to us, in turn, decreasing cost for the owner. We have seen AMAZING results in the pets that we have performed the procedure on. I truly believe that this will one day become common practice in the veterinary field. I also know that there is research being done in the human field as well. Just today, there was an article posted in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette newspaper regarding the procedure and one of our patient's post-operative results. I feel that you all should know about this scientific breakthrough, especially if you have a pet that is in pain or discomfort. I'd be happy to answer any general questions that any of you have about this procedure, if I am able to. Remember, I am not a veterinarian, so some questions I may not know the answer to, or be legally aloud to give answers to. If you live near the Pittsburgh area and are interested in procedure, you may call our office to set up an appointment to determine if your pet is eligible for the procedure. Unfortunately, I will be leaving Animal General of Cranberry near the end of September to return to my hometown, Johnstown, because my father is in very bad health and my mother needs my help to care for him.
Read the article here.
Watch a video pertaining to the article here.

Mikeg · #2 08-11-2010, 09:57 PM

Oh my gosh that is amazing!!!! I have some questions in becoming a vet though. What did you do like schooling wise?

Wynter010Beauty · #3 08-11-2010, 11:09 PM

I'm not a veterinarian, I'm a veterinary technician (the nurse/anesthetist/phlebotomist/radiology technician/dental technician/pharmacist/restrainer/everything else the doctor doesn't do....) If you mean a veterinary technician, I took a 24 month course at the Vet Tech Institute in downtown Pittsburgh. I believe they have 3 campuses. It's a very intense course, there are tests daily and you must cram a ton of information into your brain in a veryyyyyy short period of time and still manage to retain it all to take your boards test that you must score a certain percentage or higher on to receive your license. However, every state is different, so I would suggest checking with your local vet techs at your veterinary hospital and see what they had to do. As for veterinarian, I unfortunately would have LOVED to become a vet, but I did not have the money, nor did I want to be in debt for the rest of my life... All I know is you can go to college for 6-8 years.. and when I heard that part, I started to see dollar signs flying everywhere.... So i chose the next best thing!

LinhT · #4 08-12-2010, 11:12 AM

Hi Amber Marie,

So great to have you as resource on this forum! Thanks for posting this information. My little guy is still young but I plan on having him for many years to come so this is valuable information. Hopefully by the time he gets to that age where he needs this kind of therapy, the vets here in MN will be able to provide it.

DebsC · #5 08-12-2010, 10:19 PM

Thank you so much for taking the time and trouble to post this very interesting article.

I hope this procedure becomes common and in doing so, less expensive. So many animals can benefit from this kind of treatment.

Blessings for your dad and mama and for you.

Mikeg · #6 08-13-2010, 08:20 PM

Does it cost that much????

Wynter010Beauty · #7 08-13-2010, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikeg

Does it cost that much????

6-8 years of College? or the stem cell procedure? If you mean college, as far as I know, it can become very very expensive, especially if you don't have much to put down initially. It is typically at 2 separate colleges. In my situation, it was too much for me to be able to afford. If you mean the stem cell procedure, that includes bloodwork, IV catheter, IV fluids, antibiotic injection, pain injection (if needed - most of the time, we do not have to cut through the muscle to retrieve the fat unless it is a very lean dog. Cutting through the muscle causes most post-surgical pain), anesthesia, and the stem cell kit (each procedure has it's own kit for the stem cell procedure. (i.e. the solutions that are needed to separate the stem cells from the fat, the special tubes to collect the fat, the special tubes to separate the fat cells out of the sample, etc.). The cost also includes doctor's time and work, technician time and work, and the machines/utensils that are used specially for the stem cell procedures only. I can tell you, however, that from using the new procedure, the price has been able to be cut, almost in half, from $3,000 to $1,700. And also from using this new procedure, we are deriving many more stem cells (in the high millions) from the fat than we were with the old procedure.