Staffyluv Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 It's been a while since I posted but thought our journey might help others. I found Ziggy at the local pound nearly 5 years ago no. At the time he was about 6 months old.. I always thought he had a funny gait and seemed 'stiff' in his back legs all the time. At about 18 months old he kept limping and we initially thought it was a knee issue. Our vet did x-rays and it showed quite bad HD in his right hip (he had some serious wear on the ball joint from where it was rubbing against the rest of the joint). His left hip was also showing wear and tear but not as bad as his right hip. So we have mostly managed it up to a few months ago when it was obvious he was having more pain and pulling up sore more often (he is a very active dog, walking, running and doing obedience). So the decision was made to do the stem cell therapy. First he was x-rayed again and this time his elbows were done again and it showed significant degeneration in all his major joints. He had some fat harvested from his abdomen about 4 weeks ago and then Wednesday last week he went back in for the injections. Both hips, both elbows, his knees and hocks were all injected. They take the stem cells from the fat and on the day of the procedure, they take blood and mix the stem cells with the blood (they spin something out of this as well).. Coming home, he seemed to be in a lot of pain - it was a long night. The next day, his pain didn't seem to lessen, so by mid morning we were back at the specialist for more pain relief and they also applied a pain relief patch (that would last a few days). He came home and pretty much slept the rest of the day and night away. Limping out to go to the loo a few times (I was taking him water, so he didn't have to get up much) - he had no interest in food at all. Friday rolled around and he was much happier. Still limping a bit but didn't seem to be in pain - just stiff. Saturday (just 4 days after), he was bouncing off the walls. We did our first 200-300 metre walk and he wasn't ready to get home but we were limited to short walks on lead. Sunday, more improvement and he was walking around with no stiffness to note. We did 3 x 200-300 metre walks down the street and back and he was happy to be out and about. Monday, it is almost like he is back to normal. No soreness that can be noted and he is positively bouncing off the walls and hanging to get out of the house. So we did 2 walks of about a kilometre each. Tuesday he didn't pull up sore from the longer walks yesterday but I gave him a slow day. Today, just one week since the procedure and I took him to the offlead park for a walk around. He loved being off lead and he even ran a bit but I limited this because he isn't supposed to be running too much just yet. He will continue to improve up to 90 days after surgery - so I have pretty high expectations :) He won't ever have to have the procedure again but if he becomes lame later on, we can do another procedure where they take blood, spin out the good stuff and inject that directly into his joints again. The initial fat harvest cost $1800 The stem cell extraction from the fat and subsequent injection procedure cost $3000 (with the extra pain relief - note not all dogs will require this extra pain relief).. So it is cheaper than hip replacements and so far, it is looking like it is going to make his quality of life, so much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Podengo Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 Cool to hear he's doing well! I have a client that has ED and had stemcell therapy and he is doing awesome! He's about 18 months post therapy and you wouldn't know he has issues :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted April 27, 2016 Author Share Posted April 27, 2016 Thanks, it is good to hear others experience with it as well. I am glad to hear your client is doing so well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 Wow! That's awesome! So pleased you had a positive outcome!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted April 28, 2016 Author Share Posted April 28, 2016 Thanks TSD, right now it is looking extremely promising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melzawelza Posted May 8, 2016 Share Posted May 8, 2016 That is excellent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skye2 Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 Staffyluv.....Can you give me an update on how your dog is doing post Stem cell. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 Bummer about Ziggy's problems Staffyluv ... but really pleased to hear how well this seems to be working for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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