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Stem Cell Therapy

FAQs

What is Stem Cell Therapy?

Stem cells are powerful healing cells in your body that can become other types of cells.  There are many adult stem cells in fat tissue, however they are asleep. Stem Cell therapy allows your vet to isolate stem cells from an animal’s own fat tissue, wake them up, and re-introduce the healing cells into the areas of need. Actistem Therapy is a safe and affordable option for pets suffering from osteoarthritis, soft tissue injuries, hip dysplasia

What’s so great about Stem Cell Therapy?

Stem cells treat the source of the problem by offering the ability to become new tissue to replace damaged tissue.  Other treatments, such as NSAIDs, merely attempt to reduce symptoms.  The treatment is very low risk because it uses the animal’s own stem cells.  It offers an all-natural alternative to drugs and steroids.  In a recent randomized sampling of 155 canines suffering from osteoarthritis greater than 95% showed improvements as reported by the treating Veterinarians.

Is it safe?

Yes, this procedure is very safe. On a typical dog, this is easier than a spay, and the fat is collected in about 15 minutes by your vet. Processing the sample is done carefully by trained technicians at your veterinary clinic. In the thousands of animals treated, we have not observed any negative side-effects from Stem Cell Therapy.

What happens to my pet when they come in for Stem Cell therapy? 

First, your vet will put your pet under general anesthetic. Then, he/she will make a small incision and collect 2-4 tablespoons of fat (either in the belly or behind the shoulder blades). Then a trained technician will process the sample, right in the clinic. The sample is activated then introduced to the patient.  The patient can then go home the same day.

Is my pet a candidate?

Schedule a consultation and find out if your pet is a candidate. The most common applications for Stem Cell Therapy are:

  • Arthritis
  • Hip Dysplasia
  • Soft Tissue Injuries
  • And more!

How long has this been available?

Stem cell therapy for animals has been commercially available since 2004. Ardent Animal Health was the pioneer in offering to the Veterinarian industry same day, onsite treatments and has to date completed over 20,000 treatments globally.

What is the recovery period, and how long does it take to see results?

We recommend that the patient be kept quiet for the first 10 days. Then, while they may feel a lot better, you will need to be careful so your pet doesn’t injure themselves until they build up some of their muscles. Swimming and walking in water is great therapy. We typically see improvement starting after 3 weeks, and then continuing up to around 2 months.

How long does a treatment last? What happens if my pet starts having trouble again?

We typically see about 1-4 years of relief after the initial treatment. Most pet owners chose to bank cells, so retreatment is easy. Ardrent Animal Health has a banking facility in Kentucky. If symptoms return, your vet merely requests a dose of cells from the bank, and re-introduces the cells. No surgery is necessary.

Why bank your pet’s stem cells?

Banking your young pet’s cells is the best insurance you can have for the rapidly growing list of diseases being helped by Stem Cell Therapy. By banking the stem cells that are not used in the initial treatment, you will have access to Stem Cell Therapy as your pet ages. Whether it be for the same disease/condition or a new issue that arises, your pet’s stem cells will be available to pull from storage. There are 3 different options for banking cells.

In a recent survey, pet owners were asked to describe their pet’s experience with stem cell therapy in a word. Some of the most common words used were:

  • Life-changing
  • Awesome
  • Miracle
  • Amazing
  • Remarkable