Regenerative Medicine

What is regenerative medicine?

At West Midlands Veterinary Referrals, we are passionate about the quality of life for animals, and this can sometimes be achieved through non-traditional veterinary care – through the use of regenerative therapy.

Injury, age and essential operations can all have an impact on mobility and cause pain.  Regenerative medicine uses various combinations of natural mechanisms of tissue repair to encourage healing.

Regenerative medicine primarily utilises the following:

• Platelets – release growth factors and cytokines
• Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)- anti-inflammatory and immune-modulatory. They have the potential to differentiate into many cell types to restore, balance, and repair damaged tissue.

We can offer PRP treatment, which involves taking a blood sample from a sedated or anaesthetised patient, spinning the sample down to obtain plasma containing concentrated platelets only with minimal white or red blood cells, and injecting this concentrated solution into the required area (e.g. into a painful joint).

Benefits

• Encourages healing rather than simply providing pain relief.
• Targeted treatment is administered at the site where it is needed rather than giving systemic medication.

In the case of PRP, it is autologous, i.e., we are using the patient’s own tissues with no synthetic components administered. As such, it is well tolerated and should not incite a foreign body reaction. The treatment can be repeated, either 3-6 weeks after the first if an incomplete response is seen or as required in the future if/when lameness returns. PRP can either be used in conjunction with analgesia or as a means of reducing the requirement for further medication.

Complications are equivalent to those associated with arthrocentesis (joint fluid sampling) and are limited to a very low risk of introducing infection (septic arthritis – minimised by performing under aseptic conditions and using a closed system such as that which we have) and causing mild transient inflammation.

Indications include (but not limited to): osteoarthritis/DJD, post-operative for many joint surgeries (e.g. cruciate, elbow arthroscopy), chronic wounds, tendon and ligament conditions.

We offer fixed pricing for complete peace of mind, and referral is easy.

If you are unable to see the treatment you are looking for or would like to find our more please call 01543 414248

Our Fixed-Price Packages for Regenerative Medicine