Press Releases
Dr. Jeff Christiansen is Now Offering Stem Cell Therapy for Pets at Five Brevard County Animal Hospitals and Beyond
2014-09-11 --
Central Florida board-certified veterinary surgeon, Jeffrey S. Christiansen is proud to announce his partnerships with several Brevard County animal hospitals to bring regenerative veterinary medicine to pets. Dr. Christiansen has been working in the area since January 2006, credentialed to do stem cell therapy on small animals since 2008, and is happy to now offer his expertise through five different locations.
Over the years Dr. Christiansen has used stem cell therapy with Vet-Stem, Inc. on cruciate ligament and meniscus injuries, as well as osteoarthritis of the hips and other joints. Once Dr. Christiansen has identified a patient as a good stem cell therapy candidate, the pet undergoes a simple surgery to collect fat that is sent overnight to Vet-Stem’s lab in California. The day after the collection the fat is processed so stem cells can be extracted and put into concentrated, injectable doses. These doses are shipped back overnight to Dr. Christiansen and he is able to place them in the affected areas of the patient to encourage healing and regeneration.
Even if a pet is not an immediate candidate for stem cell therapy, but is undergoing an orthopedic or other type of surgery with Dr. Christiansen, he offers the ability to collect a small sample of fat for future stem cell use with Vet-Stem. Vet-Stem has the ability to cryo-bank stem cells and grow them in the future to provide doses when needed. This service is called StemInsure for dogs, and provides the insurance of a pet having a lifetime of stem cell therapy available from a single sample collection.
Stem cell therapy can be an alternative for pets that are unable to take anti-inflammatories or have digestive issues, as well as pets that are looking at long-term pain management. Because the stem cells come directly from the patient risk is low, and the procedure is natural.
As part of Superior Veterinary Surgical (and less-invasive) Solutions, Dr. Christiansen will be offering stem cell therapy at the following clinics beginning in September: Island Animal Hospital in Merritt Island, Brevard Animal Emergency Hospital in Malabar, Aloha Pet and Bird Hospital in Indian Harbour, Maybeck Animal Hospital in West Melbourne, and the Animal Emergency and Referral Center in Fort Pierce. He is bringing nearly 20 years of veterinary medicine experience with him, and takes pride in specializing in soft tissue, orthopedic, and spinal surgery.
About Dr. Christiansen and Superior Veterinary Surgical Solutions
Jeffrey S. Christiansen, DVM, DACVS graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine in 1996. He completed his surgical residency in 2001, following an internship, and in 2002 he became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons. Dr. Christiansen has been practicing in Brevard County since the beginning of 2006 and runs Superior Veterinary Surgical Solutions. In addition to stem cell therapy, some special areas of interest to Dr. Christiansen include artificial urethral sphincter (for incontinence), juvenile pubic symphysiodesis (for prevention of arthritis secondary to hip dysplasia), prophylactic gastropexy (for prevention of gastric dilatation-volvulus, commonly referred to as “bloat”), subcutaneous ureteral bypass (for obstructions between the kidney and bladder in cats), ureteral stenting (for obstruction between the kidney and bladder in dogs), and urethral stenting (for urethral obstruction), tibial tuberosity advancement (for tears of the cranial cruciate ligament; “ACL” in people) and tracheal stenting (for tracheal collapse).
