Before you have stem cell injections, you will meet with your TRSCI physician for a consultation. The doctor will discuss your treatment options. The doctor will give you a physical examination, ask you questions about your condition, and may conduct some diagnostic tests. After deciding on stem cell injections, the doctor will discuss the risks and benefits and have you sign a consent form. Before the procedure, you should wash in an antibacterial soap, and wear loose-fitting clothes.
The procedure is performed in an operating procedure room. Once being positioned on the procedure table, the physician will obtain mesenchymal stem cells from your fat tissue. The skin is first numbed with a local anesthetic, and the procedure needle is inserted.
Recently, the utility of adipose derived stem cells has been shown for therapy of orthopedic injuries. To obtain fat cells, a doctor makes a small incision over the stomach or “love handles” and inserts a tiny catheter to dislodge the cells (fat harvesting).
Adipose derived stem cells are useful because more cells (10 million to 40 million) can be harvested in this manner, relative to bone marrow techniques. For many diseases and injuries, the number of cells used for therapy affects the success rate.
It may be possible that placenta-derived cells are used, which are obtained from a donor.