SAN ANTONIO -- A cutting-edge stem cell technology is bringing new hope to pets suffering from painful and disabling injuries and diseases. It's a procedure that's giving pets a second chance at a pain-free life. "A lot of the dogs I've done have been last resort dogs, which means the owners are thinking the next step is to humanely put the dog down because they can't get up any more," veterinarian Dr. Mike Hutchison said.

The Alamo Heights Pet Clinic is the first in Texas to process stem cells in house. In the past, they've had to send samples to California for processing, which takes days and results in the loss or precious stem cells during transport. Their first batch was processed in-house on Wednesday morning for Precious, a 7-year-old lab mix with a painful, ruptured ACL. First, fat tissue was collected using a local anesthesia. The sample was processed to separate platelets. Then LED technology was used to activate millions of dormant stem cells in the tissue, which were then injected into the injury site. The cells help the tissue regenerate at a previously unseen rate. Most dogs, like Precious, should see results in seven to 10 days.

"This is giving us a new tool," Hutchinson said. "We've always had drugs that we could use which would include nutrition ... and then we had surgery, but now we have regenerative medicine."
He said he's had a nearly 100 percent success rate over the past couple of years, having seen dogs go from being practically immobile to acting like puppies.
Hutchinson said the treatment is being used on pets with osteoarthritis, hip dysplasia, and ligament and cartilage injuries and other degenerative diseases. As it becomes more popular, it could be widely used on animals and humans, he said.
"I can promise you in the future, it's going to be the way you're treated and I'm treated," said veterinarian Dr. Dan Kirby said. "If you have a shoulder injury or a knee injury, we'll use that as a way to rebuild that knee. Not just surgery but something to help enhance that surgery."

The procedure costs between $1,500 and $1,700. When samples were shipped to California for processing, the cost was about $4,000. Doctors said occasionally the procedure needs to be repeated in a year or year and a half. In those cases, the stem cells can be stored for later use.