If you’ve been Google searching “stem cell therapy charlotte nc,” you're probably wondering what clinic would be best to receive your treatment. It's helpful to ask the right questions before deciding on one. While stem cell treatments are useful for healing certain medical problems, there can be complications occasionally. Asking the right questions can help you choose a clinic that can administer treatment as safely as possible and minimize the risk of adverse side effects. Here are some crucial questions you need to ask before selecting a stem cell clinic.
1. How many stem cell procedures has your clinic performed?
Anytime you're seeking medical treatment, it's important to know the experience of the person administering the treatment. Clinics will sometimes mention the total number of procedures they've performed. If you don't see that said, then you can call and ask how many stem cell procedures have been completed. If a clinic has completed a high number of these treatments, you can feel more comfortable choosing them to perform your treatment.
2. What's the success rate?
You'll never find a clinic that had a 100% success rate administering stem cell treatments. There's always going to be some patients that don't respond well to treatment, no matter how experienced a clinic may be. Nonetheless, it's good to ask a clinic about their success rate and where their results have been published. The data should include all results, including patients who didn't respond to the treatment well.
3. How do you ensure the stem cells are correctly placed?
The effectiveness of stem cells largely depends on them being placed in the right location. A physician needs to be knowledgeable in how to accurately inject stem cells into a damaged area. Even being off just an eighth of an inch can potentially be the difference between a successful outcome or continued pain in a joint. Three methods used for stem cell placement include the shotgun approach, the blind injection, and the marksman technique. Blind injections are most common among clinics. The shotgun approach utilizes image guidance to place cells close to the injury. The marksman method uses image-guidance and advanced training to put cells in a specific structure. Be sure to ask your provider what form of imaging is used to guide the injection.
4. What's the classification of the laboratory your clinic uses?
You’ll want to know whether the lab a stem cell provider uses is an open or closed system, and what they do to protect the stem cells from contamination. In an open system, tissue samples are exposed to open air, making them susceptible to potential contamination by bacteria. In a closed system, tissue samples are kept in a germ-free environment. An experienced cell biology lab should use protective gear and perform air quality and sterility checks to ensure your stem cells are safe from contamination.
Asking all of these questions will help you make an informed decision on which clinic you should go to for your stem cell treatments. Take time to learn as much as you can about stem cell therapy before you decide to seek treatment.
