Stem cell therapy for OCD - the story of Sookie

The bundle of energy, Sookie, has been in pain since she was a baby.

The reason for this: osteochondrosis dissecans (OCD). This is a degenerative disorder of cartilage formation and ossification of the cartilage in the joints. Cartilage cells die. As a result, the articular cartilage is no longer firmly attached to the underlying bone and detaches. The free fragments lead to a considerable restriction of mobility and excessive pain. If the cause of the disease is not treated, there is a chronic inflammation in the joint. As a result, osteoarthritis develops.
Dogs are often already affected at the age of only 5 – 7 months. For the cute American Staff Sookie the devastating diagnosis came as well when she was very young.

Surgeries alone did not do the trick

Owner Petra describes in detail, which steps she had to take with her four-legged friend, so that Sookie could romp again free from pain:
“We started to notice something was wrong with Sookie when she was about 1 year old. After she slept or after she was at rest, she had great problems getting up. After some exercise, everything was gone. It got worse over time. If she had played ball, she limped. But since it got better in-between, we initially thought of overexertion. Until the intervals between normal walk and limping became shorter and shorter. According to the CT from March 19, 2018, the diagnosis was OCD. On March 27th, 2018 both hock joints were cleaned from the chips in the veterinary clinic in Wels. In July 2019 also the left elbow. ” But the operations alone were not enough to give Sookie a normal gait.

Pain free 3-months after the stem cell therapy

Dr. Christan Schwingshandl suggested stem cell therapy to support the healing process.
Petra continues: “The appointment for the sample collection was on July 17th, 2019. On August 26th, the joints were checked again using CT. On September 12th, 2019 the stem cell injection took place. After about 3 months we could see the expected improvement! Now, Sookie gets up normally, plays again and shows no signs of pain !!