This is a relatively new mode of therapy so all the questions to solidify reliable expectations are certainly not answered in regards to many aspects. There are studies done that look quite promising and demonstrate this mode of therapy helps improve quality of life of the majority of pets.
The degree of improvement in quality of life varies tremendously and is quite subjective. Survey data from conversations with owners and veterinarians on average rate improved quality of life at 88% and 91% respectively, up to the 90 day mark post stem cell therapy. The degree of quality of life improvement will depend on the degree of osteoarthritis in the joint(s), the age of the patient, the severity of the lameness, other abnormalities or illnesses the pet may concurrently have and other factors.
Generally, most stem cell practitioners say that you can expect 75-80% of patients to show improved quality of life where 20-25% do not show improvement clinically. One sort of long term look (246 days post therapy) at pain medication use (NSAIDs, like meloxicam) showed that 33.8% of animals could stop taking the medication, 28% could have dosages lowered, 28.1% maintained the medication and 10.1% worsened. The responsive group size was the same at 90days post. Unfortunately, there are no real long term studies with enough animals to say how long on average pets last before needing retreatment. Many patients are old, so they pass away or due to the expense of the procedure some pets are not retreated when they may have benefited. In general, most clients seem to be quite happy and vocal about the procedure as in many cases their pets ability to have a normal life returns to a more normal level (ability to walk, get up, jump, have longer walks and take less or no pain medication).
Further below I will show some more data and study conclusions to help you get an informed idea on what you should expect. There is more material in much more detail with videos available in our client only section.
