Full initial consultation and physical exam with assessment and recommendations
What is Elbow Dysplasia?
Elbow dysplasia is a collective term for a range of conditions describing abnormal development of the elbow joint. These are inherited conditions that tend to affect medium and large breed dogs. The conditions are:
- Coronoid disease (usually a fracture of the medial coronoid process of the ulna due to abnormal forces loading on that process)
- Ununited anconeal process of the ulna
- Osteochondrosis dissecans of the humerus
- Joint incongruity due to different growth rates of the radius and ulna
The most common of these conditions is coronoid disease. Coronoid disease and joint incongruity are sometimes found together. Coronoid disease is also known as medial compartment disease and fragmentation of the medial coronoid process.
All forms of elbow dysplasia lead to osteoarthritis as the dog ages.
Treatment options for dogs with Elbow Dysplasia
Traditionally the “treatment” of coronoid disease has been to remove the medial coronoid process using arthroscopy, whilst inserting a camera into the joint. Sometimes this is combined with surgery to re-align the ulna so that it becomes congruent with the radius.
Osteoarthritis occurs whether the dog has surgery or not, and this osteoarthritis is often severe and crippling for the patient.
Some vets may believe that surgery leads to a good outcome for dogs with ununited anconeal process and osteochondrosis dissecans. Stem cell therapy can be used following these surgical procedures in an attempt to limit arthritic changes and can also be used in place of these surgeries in select cases.
How Stem Cell Therapy can help
It has been suggested that stem cell therapy might be a better alternative than surgery for dogs that have elbow dysplasia. This is because stem cell therapy is used to change the destructive environment within an arthritic joint to a regenerative and healthy environment within that joint.
Furthermore, elbow dysplasia patients who receive stem cell treatment at an early age, may suffer less from arthritis than those who have surgery or are not treated at all.
What our stem cell treatment service includes
Our goal is to give every dog we treat the absolute best possible care because your dog’s happiness means the world to us.
We provide the gold standard of care and offer the very best cutting-edge treatments that are available including:
We’re the UK’s centre of excellence for arthritis care
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Our vets are registered with:
Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
British Veterinary Association
British Veterinary Orthopaedic Association
