Regenerative Medicine- Healing from within
Regenerative medicine is defined as the process of replacing or regenerating human cells, tissues or organs to restore or establish normal function. This field of medicine holds the promise of regenerating damaged tissues and organs in the body by replacing damaged tissue or by stimulating the body’s own repair mechanisms to heal tissues or organs-healing from within.
With a variety of circumstances, often with aging and accidental injuries, many of the organ systems of the body begin to degenerate. Most of our activities, exercises, and movements done using our joints. While most injuries caused by general wear and tear, gradual loss of cartilage and weakening vital connective tissues, they lose their normal functions and become subject of severe pain. Unfortunately, there are no non-invasive medical therapy available for several of those kinds of degenerative diseases.
Costly corrective orthopedic surgery or joint replacements has been a common treatment option with complications and lengthy rehabilitation stay. Rather than replace missing tissue in joints with artificial materials, regenerative medicine focuses solely on regenerating tissue, tendons, cartilage, bone, and ligaments. Whether these tissues have been severely damaged or have lost considerable mass, Regenerative Medicine emerges as an alternative to invasive joint surgeries using Plated Rich Plasma/ Stem Cell Therapy. Regenerative Medicine focuses on addressing the root cause of pain instead of managing symptoms.
Annually, there are more than 160,000 patients in the world receiving these helpful treatments. Stem cell transplants save more than 60,000 lives each year. There are many success stories of world famous athletes who have used stem cells, instead of surgery, and were back to work and on the field after a short recovery period. Current estimates indicate that approximately one in three Americans could potentially benefit from regenerative medicine.
Regenerative medicine is cutting-edge techniques that offers clinicians an opportunity to begin providing alternative treatments like stem cell and PRP therapies. Such therapies have numerous applications in orthopedics, aesthetics, wound care, and sports medicine.
At Valencia Medical Center, it is about helping our patients live better lives by using three main modalities of regenerative medicine procedures to promote more natural healing. Each of these treatments regrows tissue in a different manner and may be most suitable for certain conditions. We believe that our patients deserve every option possible for accessing the healing medicine they so desperately want.
Stem cell therapy
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that has ability to develop into many different types of specific cells & tissues. For treating orthopedic injuries, the only one with demonstrated efficacy is “Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSC)” which can differentiate into bone, tendons, muscle, cartilage. MSC helps people suffering from a degenerative joint disease like osteoarthritis or joint injuries and pain.
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP)
Conditions treated by Stem Cells & PRP:
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Pain & Inflammation
- Osteoarthritis of knee
- Shoulders chronic lower back pain
- Injuries to ligaments and muscles, meniscus, ACL and PCL tear of the knee chronic tendon issues
- Tennis elbow
- Rotator cuff tears
- Plantar fasciitis
- Golfer’s elbow
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Foot & Ankle sprains
Stem Cell Therapy & PRP treatment
Our Approach
Step 1: Evaluations & Findings
Step 2: Initial PRP Injection
Step 3: Second Injection – Stem Cells, Bone Marrow
Step 4: Follow Up
Treatment Protocol
PRP Treatment
The following treatment protocol apply for the following orthopedics injury & conditions:
Booster Shot
Patient returns within 3 months for follow up evaluation and if necessary request a booster shot to support the healing process. In some cases it may require 2 PRP injections, 3 months apart.
Stem Cell Treatment
For patients with severe injuries or specific orthopedic conditions stem cell therapy will be recommended. Initial treatment starts with PRP injection, a concentrated blood plasma contains growth factor and other cytokines that initiates and stimulate a healing environment. Then patient will return in 4 weeks for the bone marrow stem cell injection.
Bone Marrow Stem Cell Injection
Bone Marrow Stem Cell Special Process
Ultrasound Image Guidance Injection
Difference Between PRP & Stem Cell Therapy?
When we draw blood we use our special high concentrated unit that not only produces 3-5 times more concentration while removing nearly all of the patients white and red blood cells. Our process produces gold color PRP which is almost pure and contains only what your body needs to help repair damage. The end result is better tissue healing specially in tendon injuries and better stimulation of the local stem cells.
PRP Injections use the patient’s own blood. The blood is then processed in a highly advanced, medical-grade centrifuge, to separate platelets. Our process produces gold color platelets, which contain red blood cells with 3 – 5 times more concentration than bedside centrifuges used by most physicians. The platelets are then re-injected into the patients injured area, releasing growth factors that promote natural healing.
Stem Cell Therapy is a completely different process that uses Bone Marrow for extracting stem cells. These special stem cells are called Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSC). The MSC’s that demonstrated to be most effective turn into bone, cartilage, muscle, tendons or ligaments. The process involves drawing bone marrow from a patients hip bones. The bone marrow is then processed in a special super concentration unit. This unit can drive up 10-times more stem cells than the bedside centrifuges most physicians use. The stem cells are then re-injected by our expert physicians, using ultrasound image guided by needle recognition capability, ensuring delivery to the precise location. Be advised that PRP is not a stem cell therapy, yet we have seen some clinics advertising PRP injection as a stem cell therapy.
Conditions treated by Stem Cells & PRP:
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Pain & Inflammation
- Osteoarthritis of knee
- Shoulders chronic lower back pain
- Injuries to ligaments and muscles, meniscus, ACL and PCL tear of the knee chronic tendon issues
- Tennis elbow
- Rotator cuff tears
- Plantar fasciitis
- Golfer’s elbow
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Foot & Ankle sprains
Who is not a candidate for Stem Cells & PRP?
Limitations of use for people with the following medical conditions:
- Battled blood-borne cancer in the last five years
- Have specific types of blood-borne disease
- Taking certain medications
- Pregnant
- Anemic
- On Anticoagulant Medications
Regenerative Plasma & Biologic Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain
New Biologic Treatment for Osteoarthritis Knee
Stem Cell Therapy for Foot, Ankle and Athletes Foot Injury
Wound Care
Utilizing advances in regenerative medicine, our wound care treatments are designed for the management and treatment of chronic and acute wounds including diabetic foot ulcers. At Valencia Medical Center, we offer a comprehensive portfolio of regenerative and complementary medicine to help patients from early in their wound healing process through to wound closure.
Regenerative medicine is one of the most recent developments to become worthy treatment alternative to achieve faster wound healing for patients who have failed traditional therapies. When wounds damage tissues, regenerative medicine through regeneration and rejuvenation, can replace the damaged cells or restore them to proper health. This promotes wound healing in various cases, including:
- Diabetic Foot Ulcers
- Post-traumatic open wounds
- Post surgical open wounds
- Wounds involving Bone Infections
Our skilled physicians offer treatment of wounds and diabetic ulcers,for non-healing wounds through:
- Wound Debridement and Cleaning to help healthy tissue grow, minimize scarring and reduce complications of infections,
- IV Therapy/ infusion service (ie, provision of IV antibiotics, IV hydrations, IV immunoglobulin (IVIG)
- Amniotic Membrane Allografts (AMAs) Patches
- Platelet-Rich Fibrin (PRF) for the regeneration of soft tissues.
- Scar Resurfacing