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Stem Cells

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What is Stem Cell Therapy?

Stem cell therapy treatments are unique because they help the body jump start the healing process. Stem cells are the body’s master cells and are responsible for cell recruitment. They are undifferentiated cells that have the ability to transform into a variety of different cells and replace dying cells, and the potential of rebuilding damaged tissue, muscles, tendons or ligaments. Stem cells are derived from your own body’s bone marrow collected from their sternum

How does it work?

A sample of bone marrow is taken from your horses sternum is taken and processed at our Galley Hill Equine Clinic. This sample contains many different kinds of cells including fat cells, blood cells, bone cells and of course stem cells so we use a centrifuge to separate the cells that we need. The sample can be ready to inject into the horse within 15-30 minutes after taking the sample.

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The patient will normally be sedated and the injured area to be injected will be numbed with local anaesthetic. The damaged area is visualised using an ultrasound scanner, and a needle inserted, using the scanner to help guide the needle and to confirm correct placement at the site of the injury. The stem cells is then injected under sterile conditions.

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Horse in Stable

When is Stem Cell Therapy used?

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  • Degenerative Joint Disease (Hock arthritis)

  • Sacroiliac

  • Ligament injuries

  • Tendon Injuries

  • Damaged Cartilage

What else should I know?

  • Stem Cell therapy can become quite expensive so please bare this in mind and ask us for a quote prior to proceeding.

  • The sooner you do stem cell therapy following injury, the better

  • A tailored rehabilitation program, including controlled exercise and adjunctive treatments (laser therapy, cold hosing, bandaging etc), is also key to success in cases of tendinitis and desmitis. The nature and severity of injury will dictate that individual horse’s tailored rehabilitation plan

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