Running With The Wind: Trago's Elbow Dysplasia Surgery And Stem Cell Treatment

Trago's story is shared with us by my friend and a fellow stem cell advocate Brian Feuer.

Trago is an 11-month-old male Bernese Mountain dog. He is the funniest and most energetic dog we ever had!


One day Trago suddenly started to limp. We rested him for three days but the lameness only continued to get worse.

We took him to the vet hoping to rule out anything serious other than Pano.

Editor's note: Panosteitis, also known as "long bone disease," "wandering lameness," or "pano" is an abnormal bone growth affecting primarily long bones of young growing large breed dogs. It is typically seen in dogs between the ages of five to eighteen months.

It is a self-limiting disease that usually resolves with maturity. However, it is very painful. The typical symptom is acute shifting lameness and pain, usually with one leg effected more consistently. Fever might be present.

It is believed that puppy diets that are too high in protein may be a contributing factor.

Unfortunately, Trago's x-rays also revealed bi-lateral elbow dysplasia and degenerative joint disease.

An orthopedic specialist discovered fragmented medial coronoid process (FMCP) in both elbows and recommended surgery.

Editor's note: Elbow dysplasia is the most common cause of front leg lameness in young large breed dogs.

It is a condition involving multiple developmental abnormalities of the elbow joint—osteochondritis, ununited anconeal process, fragmented medial coronoid process (FMCP), and elbow incongruency.

Fragmented medial coronoid process (FMCP) is a condition in which a piece of bone inside the elbow is malformed or separated from the ulna . This bone fragment then results in damage  to the lining of the joint and surrounding cartilage.

During the consultation, we also agreed on stem cell injections at the same time if the surgery was a success.

The surgery was a total success and Trago also got his stem cell treatment.

Long story short, on Tuesday morning we practically carried him in for his surgery.

Thursday afternoon he was running down the hallway to greet me!

Trago's surgeon felt that only with the stem cell treatment his recovery could be so rapid!

It's been almost a year since his surgery and stem cell therapy and Trago has not experienced any lameness or problems since.

Knowing what I know now, I will never hesitate to do this to any other of our companions seeing how it helped Trago the way it did.

***

Brian Feuer, retired firefighter from San Luis Obispo County Fire Dept. Their dogs keep them very busy with dog shows, acting as actors in commercials.

Brian is a food nut and works closely with Grandma Lucy's, All American Pet Diner, helping to develop yummy and healthy dog food products.

Related articles:
Stem Cells for Dogs? Oh yeah, baby!
Interview with Dr. Robert J. Harman, D.V.M., M.P.V.M. - CEO and founder of Vet-Stem
Jasmine is Vet-Stem's poster child! 
Zeus Gets Stem Cell Treatment 
Jasmine Is Headed For Her Next Stem Cell Treatment 
Jasmine's Stem Cells Are In

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