Stem cell therapy

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rubyred

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Has anyone any experience of this? My lovely horse has an acute core lesion of the sdft. A year off has been prescribed but I am worried about his future eventing career. A future as a dressage horse would really not suit him! Could anyone help me out on an idea of costs and aftercare with stem cell? Also of course success rates! Any other helpful suggestions would be very gratefully received! I know a lot of you have been through this and understand how heartbreaking it can be.
 
My mare has a legion in her superficial flexor tendon. She recently had surgery to cut the anular ligament which was very swollen and was due to have stem cell implants, but got an infection in the area from a bandage rub! After box rest and now exercise under saddle, she has been pronounced sound by the vets. She will be scanned in another 4 weeks to see if the hole has healed, if not she will have the implants.

Six weeks ago, another mare on the yard had stem cell implants. She had 3 holes and a tear in her DDFT and we were all disappointed to find that on a re-scan, they were only 50% improved. Our vets have done quite a number of these implants and had such a huge success rate and they too were expecting better results.

The procedure can be carried out at home which involves clipping the area and scrubbing up until as sterile as possible and the stem cells are injected into the tendon with the help of the scanner. Swelling will take place for a few days so antibio's and anti inflams will be needed. Box rest with in hand grazing followed by in hand walking for the first month. You will be given a rehab programme to follow. This is pretty hands on and time consuming so you will need to have the time to do this morning and night. A re-scan in 4 weeks should then hopefully show that the treatment has worked in which case you begin rehab under saddle
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The cost of the stem cells varies from £500 for pigs bladder cells up to £5,000 for her own cells to be taken and cultured. On top of this is obviously call out and drugs.

Hope this helps you to make a decision about your boy. Do let us know how you get on.
 
Thanks very much will have to get some specific quotes. How soon after the initial injury do you need to do the implants? Is it a case of the sooner the better?
 
This is something you will need to ask your vet. I do have a leaflet somewhere, I will try to hunt it out for you. If you google 'A-Cell', you may be able to find the answers to all your questions in one hit
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