Articles with regenerative therapy

PRP for Partial Cruciate Tear: Pearl Is Running Again

Dogs with different clinical conditions with different outcome goals, including musculoskeletal conditions, can benefit from platelet therapy. Pearl’s story Pearl was found as a stray on the streets. She was a bloody little malnourished baby girl. Veterinarians were not able to determine exactly what caused her leg disfigurement. However, because of the scar tissue and the scarring around her torso,…

by Dr. Jeff Schaffer

VetStem Therapy for Dogs: Back to Playing Fetch–Stuart’s Story

VetStem regenerative therapy gives Stuart his life back. What do Labrador Retrievers enjoy the most? Retrieving, of course. Which, in modern days, translates to playing fetch. JD loved fetching and would keep at it as long as anybody was throwing things. Neither Jasmine or Cookie had been very keen on playing fetch. Jasmine enjoyed hiking and exploring and Cookie only…

by Jana Rade

Evaluating PRP Treatment for Dogs: Platelet-Rich Plasma Treatment (PRP) for Partial Cranial Cruciate Ligament (CCL) Tears—Would I Do It Again?

So it’s been over a year and a half since Cookies PRP treatment for her partial cruciate ligament tear(s). Back then, we had a long, hard debate about what we should do. There was the TPLO surgery, which is the first thing most veterinarians recommend. While the traditional suture repair worked well for Jasmine, I didn’t believe it could withstand…

by Jana Rade

PRP for CCL Injuries: Cookie’s PRP Treatment for Partial Cruciate (CCL/ACL) Tear Update and Considering the Future

Can regenerative therapy treat canine partial cruciate injuries? When I have an option to chose between surgery or regenerative therapy, I am always willing to consider regenerative therapy first. Platelet-rich plasma treatment is what we decided to try to treat Cookie’s partial CCL tears. Our experience A long time has passed since Cookie’s treatment. It is time to review how…

by Jana Rade

PRP Treatment for CCL Injury: Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Treatment for Cookie’s Bad Knee(s)

Can platelet-rich plasma treat a partial cruciate ligament tear in your dog? When we found out that Cookie’s knee(s) were bad, we had to make a decision about what to do next. Of course, there are the surgeries … but could we try something else first? We decided to give regenerative medicine a chance. It’s not like the surgery option…

by Jana Rade

Jana Rade

I am a graphic designer by day, dog health advocate, dog writer, member of the Dog Writers Association of America, and an award-winning author in my spare time. Jasmine, the Rottweiler of my life, was the largest female from her litter. We thought we were getting a healthy dog. Getting a puppy from a backyard breeder was our first mistake. Endless veterinary visits without a diagnosis or useful treatment later, I realized that I had to take Jasmine's health care into my own hands. I learned the hard way that simply seeing a vet is not always enough. There is more to finding a good vet than finding the closest clinic down the street. And, sadly, there is more to advocating for your dog's health than visiting a veterinarian. It should be enough, but it often is not. With Jasmine, it took five years to finally get a diagnosis for her initial issue. Unfortunately, other problems had snowballed for that in the meantime. Jasmine's health challenges became a crash course in understanding dog health issues and how to go about getting a proper diagnosis and treatment. I had to learn, and I had to learn fast. Helping others through my challenges and experience has become my mission and Jasmine's legacy. I now try to help people recognize and understand signs of illness in their dogs, how to work with their veterinarian, and when to seek a second opinion. My goal is to use 20 years of hard-earned experience to save others from the steep curve of having to learn things the hard way, as I did.

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