If you’re experiencing health or medical complications, stem cell therapy may be one of the options you are considering. Stem cell procedures can be used to address a variety of health issues. The question is, how do you know that stem cell therapy will work for you? And how can you be sure that the provider you’ve chosen is the best one for your case?
Questions to Ask about Stem Cell Therapy
As a publisher of stem cell industry news, BioInformant understandably can’t provide you with a stem cell treatment or give you medical advice. However, our Founder Cade Hildreth is a stem cell patient and we do our very best to track this evolving industry. In fact, we’ve been tracking the stem industry since we were founded in 2006. That means we’ve been watching it unfold for over 18 years.
Additionally, we are a U.S. company based near Washington, DC, so we have been able to watch first-hand as the U.S. FDA has written its policy documents to regulate this evolving area of medicine.
With that context, here’s a rundown of seven questions you might want to ask before you get considering getting stem cell therapy. Of course, you should always discuss your findings with a trusted medical professional as well, such as your Primary Care Provider.
Let’s get started.
1. How Experienced Are You with Stem Cell Procedures?
One of the most important questions you can ask before getting stem cell therapy is how many procedures your prospective provider has completed.
Why? Because the more procedures they have completed, the better your outcome may be, and the less likely you are to suffer complications.
When it comes to surgical procedures, surgeons usually deem themselves experts in certain procedures once they’ve performed these procedures at least 200 procedures. In addition, some clinics focus on the total count of procedures that they’ve completed.
In addition to contacting a provider’s office by phone, consider reaching out to them on social media, as they may be responsive through there as well.
2. What Is Your Specialty?
The specialty of the physician you choose for any major medical procedure matters. And stem cell therapy is no exception.
Specifically, consider a physician who specializes in interventional pain medicine, sport medicine, or physical medicine. These physicians have undergone training to provide injection-based joint care.
The provider you choose should have also received training on guided injections, which include fluoroscopy and ultrasound. This will help to make sure that cells are injected exactly where they are needed.
3. What Is Your Technique for Harvesting Stem Cells?
The answer to this question is important, as stem cell extraction techniques differ based on the stem cell source.
For instance, harvesting stem cells from bone marrow will require a procedure known as a bone marrow aspiration.
This procedure requires extensive image guidance and experience. Otherwise, your physician could end up aspirating blood with no stem cells, rather than bone marrow containing stem cells.
In addition, if your physician harvests stem cells from just one site, there’s a chance that they won’t extract enough stem cells.
4. How Will They Make Sure That Stem Cells Are Placed Correctly?
It’s paramount that the physician you choose knows how to inject your stem cells accurately into your body’s degenerated or damaged area.
If your physician is off even a little, this can cause you to experience joint dysfunction and incessant pain. So, be sure to ask your potential physician how they’ll keep this from happening.
Your doctor may choose one of three methods for placing stem cells: the blind injection approach, marksman technique, and shotgun approach.
Blind injection appears to be the most risky, although the majority of clinics use this approach.
Meanwhile, the marksman technique involves using the combination of image guidance and advanced training. Also, the shotgun approach involves placing cells near the injury site using image guidance.
5. How Do You Know Who Is a Good Candidate for Stem Cell Therapy?
Not all patients are good candidates for all stem cell procedures. Therefore, it’s crucial that your prospective physician is honest with you about whether stem cell therapy would be appropriate for you and your condition.
Ask the doctor what they expect your treatment outcome to be. Also, ask them about the basis for their evaluation.
6. Which Medicines Affect Stem Cells?
Some commonly taken medicines are actually harmful to stem cells’ health. These medicines include local anesthetics, such as marcaine/bupivacaine and lidocaine.
In light of this, make sure that the physician you choose doesn’t use these anesthetics to numb you during your therapy.
Also, ask if your physician knows that steroid injections can kill healthy cells and cartilage in your joints if injected in large doses. They should also be aware that no more than between six and 12 weeks should separate steroid and stem cell injections.
Furthermore, ask the doctor which prescription medicines negatively impact stem cells. And if you’re taking any of them, ask the doctor when you need to quit taking them and when to resume them following your procedure.
If you take these particular medications during stem cell therapy, your chances of having a successful procedure outcome will decrease.
7. Which Kinds of Stem Cells Will You Use?
Note that not every stem cell is the same. So, ask your prospective physician where they extract stem cells. Also, what types of cells do they use?
As a general rule of thumb, the mesenchymal cells found in bone marrow and adipose tissue are especially useful for completing orthopedic repairs. These include repairs to your tendon tissue and cartilage, for example.
Seeking a Stem Cell Treatment?
As the world’s largest publisher of stem cell industry news, we are committed to being a trustworthy source of news flow for the industry. Understandably though, we cannot provide clinical treatments or advice. For this reason, please contact GIOSTAR with your medical questions. GIOSTAR is a global stem cell company that has treated a large number of patients, both in the U.S. and worldwide.
You can reach them at this link to schedule a consultation or ask them your questions.
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