Gunny is taken to the recovery room at Palmyra Animal Clinc by lab techs Kyle Kolva, left and Debbie Miller. Watching is Dr. Richard Hann who performed the stem cell procedure. Earl Brightbill-Lebanon Daily News
Dr. Calvin Clements, owner of the Palmyra Animal Clinic, 920 E. Main St., said he had been offering stem cell therapy in his clinics for about seven years.
"It's been available commercially for about seven to 10 years," he said. "There was a several day turnaround, multiple anesthesia, and it was considerable expense."
Clements said the stem cell process is used for joint disease in animals now but the use of stem cells is expanding. "Now, we're using it for degenerative joint disease, joint damage, cartilege damage, ligament injuries ... there's tons of those (injuries) in animals," he said.
On Wednesday, Clements and his associate Dr. Richard Hann used the new process for the first time in their office with two dogs, Gunny, a 7-year-old German Shepherd and Hudson, an 8-year-old Toy Fox Terrier.
Trey Smith, lab director for MediVet America, said the company has provided stem cell therapy for several years, but until recently, veterinary clinics had to send an animal's stem cells to its outside processing facility.
"It was a three-day process," Smith said. "Now, Dr. Clements is able to do the surgery in the morning, process the stem cells in the office and do the injections in the afternoon."
Similar types of regenerative medicine procedures for orthopedic conditions have been performed on human athletes, such as New York Yankee's pitcher Bartolo Colon and PGA golfer Tiger Woods, according to a news release from MediVet America. "Plasma and stem cell treatments allow for a natural process to speed healing time and reduce inflammation, improving general well-being of the patients," the release stated.
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Palmyra Animal Clinic adds new stem cell therapy to improve animals' lives