Stem Cell Safari

08/22/2022

08/18/2022

This gentle giant got his second round of stem cells today for inflammatory bowel disease. Go Hans!

08/16/2022

Most of us are used to seeing Dachshunds in carts and know that they are prone to back issues. But just what does that mean and why is that?

Well, first of all, contrary to popular opinion, it is not because their backs are long. In fact, it can happen to any breed of dog, but is common to chondrodystrophic breeds, or those with short legs and long bodies. This is due to an abnormal development of the cartilage that causes the long bones of the body to grow at an abnormal rate resulting in shortened legs. This is a genetic trait that is bred into certain dog breeds. Unfortunately, this can also result in a genetic deformation called Intervertebral Disc Disease, or IVDD, which causes the spinal discs to dry out and compress earlier in life than normal.

Most vets have only 2 options to treat IVDD: crate rest or surgical decompression. Here at Safari, we offer a 3rd option: stem cell therapy. Stem cells can be injected into the disc to regenerate the cartilage and draw fluid back into the disc to make it spongy again, like dipping a dried out sponge into water!

This video shows where a surgeon has cut into the vertebrae to perform spinal disc decompression surgery. A slot is cut into the vertebrae on either side of the disc so the extruded disc material can be carefully removed. This can be seen in the attached video of a CT scan that was done a few weeks after surgery at T11-T12.

Look for the hole in the vertebrae in the center of the screen when it zooms in. How cool is that?!

08/11/2022

Dozer the Standard Poodle came all the way from Illinois to get stem cell injections into his kidneys along with intravenous stem cells to help with his chronic kidney disease.
Stem cells reduce inflammation associated with kidney disease and are angiogenic, meaning they are able to grow new blood vessels to help the kidneys.
Dozer will get a second round of cells in 3-4 weeks, at which time we expect his BUN & creatinine levels to have improved. After his second round of cells, his local veterinarian will watch his blood work to see when he needs his next round. This is because stem cells do not cure kidney disease, but do help to extend the pet's life.

08/08/2022

08/01/2022

Stem cells injected into the blood supply to the colon to treat Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

08/01/2022

Meet Lady!

Lady is an 8 yo Chihuahua who lives in Washington state. She was diagnosed with IMHA in February of this year. At the time pre-cursor immune mediated anemia was suspected, meaning the bone marrow was possibly dysfunctional and therefore having trouble making new red blood cells. Her hematocrit was hovering in the low- to mid-teens and she needed multiple blood transfusions. The only time her HCT got over about 13-15% was following a blood transfusion.
Desperately trying to find something that would work, toward the end of March, Lady’s owner and vet decided to try IVIG (human immunoglobulins) along with a 5th blood transfusion. Her PCV had been 13% before and reached 30% afterward. Unfortunately, a week later it was down to 24%, then 17% another week later. By this point, though, her reticulocytes had increased, indicating her marrow was beginning to regenerate new red blood cells, though not enough to keep up with the number being killed off by the immune system. Her vet then decided to do a cyclosporine drip.

In the meantime, Lady’s owner was recommended to Safari and asked us about the possibility of stem cell therapy helping Lady. After reviewing her case, Dr Garner recommended intravenous stem cells and Lady’s local vet was ready to administer. Cells were overnight shipped in mid-May Lady received her first round of stem cells. Her HCT was in the low- to mid-20’s, and her reticulocytes bounced around between 100k and 200k; a good sign. By the end of June, her HCT stayed in the 20’s but her vet reported that her reticulocytosis was the highest it has ever been. She also reported that there still seemed to be ongoing bone marrow dysfunction. Dr Garner determined that since the reticulocyte count is high, the stem cells have kicked off the marrow to produce more RBCs but there is still killing going on that requires more stem cells. He recommended 2 rounds of stem cells, 2 weeks apart. A second round of cells was given recently – the 3rd week of July, and we are waiting to hear how her next round of lab work will come back. Lady will get her next round in just a few days.

We will keep you posted on Lady's progress!

07/26/2022

06/14/2022

These are before and after pictures of stem cell injections given into the ear flaps here at Safari for vasculitis. Scaly crustiness had improved in just 12 days.
If your dog or cat has open lesions or crusty ear tips, tip of the tail, paw pads, or nose, be sure to come see us for a diagnosis. Vasculitis can be a lifelong battle for pets, but stem cell therapy can bring relief and remission.

03/24/2022

Safari and Dr Garner in the news!

https://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/texas-veterinarian-saving-anemic-dogs-through-the-use-of-stem-cells/

Derp the Jack Russell is one lucky dog. His owner practically grew up in her dad’s veterinary clinic and became a veterinary technician, so she knew what to do when Derp was lethargic and vomiting after he’d been just fine the day before.

03/04/2022

Update on Felix!

*Felix Update!
Felix came in for a PCV check and another wean off his medications today! His PCV is up to 49% and he's doing great! We discontinued his cyclosporine and dropped his prednisone to 25mg every other day. Felix got to us early on in the course of his disease and responded very quickly.

Felix's Story -
Felix is a beautiful 5 yo Pembroke Welsh Corgi who initially came to us back in early January with Evan's Syndrome, which is IMHA and ITP together. He and his owners were traveling for the Christmas holiday and he stopped eating. After he began vomiting and having diarrhea, his owners realized it could be more than just travel jitters. The specialty clinic out of state where he was taken began running tests, including blood tests, radiographs, heartworm and tick disease tests, and an anemia panel. His HCT was down to 19%, his platelets wouldn’t even register, and spherocytes and autoagglutination were seen on a blood smear, suggesting an immune mediated process. He was diagnosed with immune mediated hemolytic anemia and immune mediated thrombocytopenia. His owners were advised that not only was Felix’s prognosis ‘guarded’, but that only 50% of IMHA patients ever make it out of the hospital. He was started on doxycycline and dexamethasone and after spending a night in the ER, was okay until they arrived back home. He was again hospitalized, during which time his PCV bounced around in the 20’s, and his platelets climbed to only 4500.
Like most pet parents, Felix's owners didn't know what to. His mom posted about it on her Instagram page and was referred to Safari because we specialize in treating IMHA with stem cells. Since they live in the area, Felix’s owners were able to make an appointment and bring him to us rather than having us ship cells to their local vet. They had taken Felix to a large specialty clinic in the area but found it costly and difficult to get an appointment. When they arrived for their appointment, we discussed the use of stem cell therapy to address the root of the problem with immune mediated diseases like Felix's as opposed to waiting for immunosuppressants to slow the immune system's attack. Felix's hematocrit had dropped from 29 to 20 by the time he got his first round of stem cells. A little over a week later, his HCT was up to 35. About a week and a half later, he received a second round of cells because his PCV wasn’t coming up fast enough. A few days after that, his PCV was up to 39%. Two weeks later, his PCV was up to 42%! At his most recent visit – just under 2 months after his first round of stem cells – his PCV is up to 49% and he’s only on 25mg of prednisone every other day. As you can see, he's a happy, healthy boy who is recovering nicely!

03/02/2022

Sasha's original post below, with update here:
**UPDATE ON SASHA**
Sasha's owner called to give us an update on Sasha a few days ago. As you may know, cervical injuries can be much more painful than lower back injuries, and Sasha was no different. She had been screaming in pain often throughout the days before she came to see us and get her stem cells. She stayed overnight with us for a few days, and continued this behavior. Knowing it would take a minimum of a week before the cells would help reduce the swelling that was pressing against the nerves in her neck, we recommended she stay with us so that we could administer pain medications throughout the day. Sasha went home the end of last week and had a few more rough days, but her owner reported that she'd stopped crying out so much by the end of the weekend and she was able to get back to work this week. Sasha is doing much better already.

02/25/2022

Rambo's IVDD story

02/24/2022

Odis's story

02/22/2022

Brady was allowed to relax on the cool tile while he got his stem cells this afternoon since he wasn't feeling well at all.

Brady is an 8 yo Labrador who has been experiencing pretty severe vomiting and diarrhea since the end of last year. His vet tried every kind of medication available, but nothing seemed to help. Earlier this month his calcium and albumin levels dipped and he began having seizures, so his owners brought him to the emergency clinic. Although he had been on prednisone for months, he lost his appetite and didn't even want to drink water. He was losing weight and his body was not absorbing protein, so things were getting serious. He was even taking a powerful cancer drug to help. The EC ran tests that included blood work, a CT scan, ultrasounds, and finally an endoscopy with a biopsy that indicated inflammatory bowel disease. His owner did some research online and found that we treat inflammatory bowel disease with stem cell therapy. Brady got his cells today as well as a few ideas to help him eat and break down protein, including Prozyme (a pancreatic enzyme substitute), whey protein powder, and amino acid i.v. infusions his vet can administer when he returns home. We'll see him again in 2 weeks for a second round of stem cells.

02/16/2022

Merce is a sweet Bulldog who was having systemic issues that affected her ears, skin, and eyes. Her owner was constantly having to take her to her vet to have Merce's ears flushed and get medications to try to stop the problem from happening in the first place. Her skin was dry and itchy in patches, and her eyes were constantly getting ulcers. Like other owners whose pets have eye issues, she was putting multiple types of drops in many times a day and not only did Merce keep trying to scratch at her eyes, they were not improving. Her eyes were red and she barely opened them. Her owner recently took her to a large specialty clinic and was told a $10,000 surgery would be needed to save the eyes. Then a friend told her about Safari. Merce looked as miserable as she felt, and Dr Garner immediately realized her issues were more than likely related and stemmed from an immune attack that was affecting different parts of her body. The perfect answer to this problem is stem cell therapy. Stem cells are aware that the immune system is attacking its own cells in error, thinking they are a virus or bacteria that need to be killed, and they pass this information on to the immune system, putting an end to the attack. The stem cells were given intravenously to reach the affected areas through the bloodstream as well as injected intraconjunctivally. Merce will return for a second round of stem cells in a few weeks. We expect Merce to feel better immediately and continue to improve as the cells take effect. Merce’s owner should expect to see these results in a few weeks.

02/15/2022

Update on Daisy, who got 12 blood transfusions while battling IMHA before getting stem cell therapy that saved her life

02/11/2022

Peabody's stem cell story!

02/10/2022

Tomac's stem cell story -

Meet Tomac!
Tomac is a beautiful 2-year-old English Springer Spaniel who was hospitalized after being diagnosed with IMHA in December of 2021. He had already had 3 blood transfusions in as many days and the hospital cautioned that a fourth may be needed because his PCV had dropped from 25% earlier in the day to 18% that evening. By 2:00 am, Tomac’s PCV had dropped to 14%. His owners were desperately looking for a way to stop this vicious cycle and learned that stem cell therapy was an option for treating IMHA. They gave us a call, and since they lived just a few hours away, decided to discharge Tomac and bring him to Safari.

Upon arrival Tomac’s PCV was down to 13%, and it was apparent that he needed blood, so a 4th blood transfusion of packed red blood cells was given. Next, he got his first transfusion of stem cells. During this time, Tomac was kept on his immunosuppressants and stomach protectants, even while getting his stem cells. This is because we want to stop the killing of the red blood cells as soon as possible, and the medications help with this.

Tomac went back home that night with the expectation of not only needing more blood, but of having a 2nd round of stem cells shipped to their vet for administration if his PCV didn’t rise quickly. The next day, his PCV had again dropped, this time down to 10%, and a 2nd round was needed sooner rather than later. He also needed more blood, so his vet administered both packed red blood cells and stem cells. The following day his PCV had risen to 18% and he was passing urine that was a more normal color, and not as dark as it had been. In the next few days his PCV continued to rise and Tomac gained interest in playing with his ball outside. He was still tired, but more alert and active. A week later, his PCV was up to 34% and he has been doing well since then!

02/01/2022

01/12/2022

Albus was brought in to see us for a painful jaw, coughing, sneezing, and discharge from the eyes and nose. He was also having a hard time eating. Medication wasn’t helping, and it was determined he had what is termed mastricus myositis, an autoimmune disorder.
Also called masticatory muscle myositis, MMM is an immune disorder in which the dog's immune system attacks the muscles involved in chewing. MMM causes these muscles to become swollen and painful. Eventually, dogs with MMM cannot open their mouths without excruciating pain. Certain breeds may be predisposed, and MMM historically has been found in large breeds such as German Shepherds and Labradors. Here at Safari, we have noted this in brachiocephalic dogs, or those like pugs and bulldogs with “smushed” faces. Signs of MMM include the dog’s inability to open his mouth, inability to eat, swollen chewing muscles, and excruciating face pain. A blood test can diagnose MMM to identify and measure the antibodies that attack the muscle fibers (autoantibodies). When the antibodies can’t be measured, a muscle biopsy can also be done.
At Safari, we treat many autoimmune (or immune mediated) diseases with stem cells. The cells are given intravenously, with two rounds administered within 2 weeks. The stem cells produce T-cells that stop the antibodies from attacking and from being produced in the first place. We expect Albus to make a complete recovery.
Here Albus is getting his first round of stem cells.