Operate, or wait and see. There's a third option.
Torn, worn, or inflamed: knee, hip, shoulder, hand and foot, plus neck, back and disc. Your imaging decides whether cell therapy is worth trying, and the physician team reads it before anyone answers.
We treat the whole joint: the cartilage, and the ligaments, tendons and muscles around it that drive much of the pain.
Image-guided delivery into or beside the disc, or into the facet joint, with strict imaging screening; a herniated or degenerative disc has its own page.
The joint we screen most. Cells go into the joint space under live imaging, with the needle confirmed on screen first.
Delivery under ultrasound or fluoroscopy to the glenohumeral joint, rotator cuff tendon, or AC joint as indicated.
Fluoroscopic guidance places cells precisely at the femoral head–acetabular interface.
Ultrasound-guided injection for thumb-base (CMC) arthritis and other small-joint OA. Same image-guided precision as larger joints, smaller anatomic targets.
Ankle arthritis is the main indication. Fluoroscopy or ultrasound guides delivery to the joint, and ultrasound to the plantar fascia, tendons, and peri-bony sites.
A significant share of inquiries are declined by the physician team. Not because we can't help, but because cell therapy isn't the right tool for every problem.
Chronic damage settles into a state that prevents healing. The injection puts cells directly into it, and the same-session IV sends more through the bloodstream.
No two joint cases get the same recipe. Which cells, in what dose, by which route is decided after the physician team reads your imaging.
A 15-minute call with a patient coordinator, who gathers whatever records you have, including the imaging CD no computer in your house will open. The physician team reviews them, and you get a written answer and an itemized quote. No MRI or bloodwork is required to start: imaging can be done at the hospital, and labs only when the physician team asks for them.
Bone-marrow and umbilical-cord MSCs, chondrocytes where cartilage needs support, at a dose sized to the joint and your case. Drawn into a 5cc syringe and injected under live fluoroscopic or ultrasound guidance, position confirmed before release. 15 to 30 minutes, under local anesthetic, with twilight sedation available if you want it (no general). One or two companions in the room with you.
A second allogeneic MSC dose, delivered IV in the infusion suite, monitored. About 45 minutes. The IV and the injection are designed to work together.
Monitored rest, then discharge instructions and a Celva driver back to San Diego once the attending physician has authorized it. You go home the same day, about 4 hours after you arrived.
Expect mild soreness at the injection site for 24 to 72 hours. Knee, hip, ankle and foot: stay off the joint with very limited activity for the first 7 to 10 days. Shoulder and hand: light daily use is fine while you protect the joint. Spine: about a week of soreness, then normal activity. Physical therapy is recommended after the first 7 to 10 days; outside it, avoid loading the joint for 4 to 6 weeks. Running and impact sport wait until weeks 8 to 12. You get the written protocol before you fly home.
Follow-up calls from your patient coordinator or aftercare specialist at 1 week, then at 1, 3 and 6 months, then once a year, by phone or video. A physician joins when needed. One session; whether a second treatment makes sense is decided at your follow-up reviews.
Celva patients, in their own words. No stock footage and no scripts. Individual results vary.
Book a call with a patient coordinator and send your imaging. The physician team reads it and tells you plainly whether cell therapy is the right next step. If it isn't, they say so.