Anyone with experience of PulsMed, Poland, for stem cells?

[LateralMeniscusIssuesGuy]

Hi all,

My UK surgeon says that while I am making anticipated recovery from my meniscus transplant and oats graft, he is interested in me having a lipogems stem cell injection to assist with some settling of the joint (still some inflammation, and presumably more healing still needs to occur as only been 4 months).  He would be new to the procedure and has quoted approx. £4k.  Reading on their site, Pulsmed seem to offer what those who understand the separation techniques, an excellent standard of injection for approximately a quarter of the price.  Since repeat treatments seems to be key, having 4 of these vs one in the UK is a tempting prospect, if I am not taking unreasonable risks by doing so.

Has anyone had treatment here?  Or seriously considered it?  The link to the website seems to be:
https://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=pl&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fpulsmed.com.pl%2Fcennik.html&anno=2

Regards
JT

[psny]

Hi all,

My UK surgeon says that while I am making anticipated recovery from my meniscus transplant and oats graft, he is interested in me having a lipogems stem cell injection to assist with some settling of the joint (still some inflammation, and presumably more healing still needs to occur as only been 4 months).  He would be new to the procedure and has quoted approx. £4k.  Reading on their site, Pulsmed seem to offer what those who understand the separation techniques, an excellent standard of injection for approximately a quarter of the price.  Since repeat treatments seems to be key, having 4 of these vs one in the UK is a tempting prospect, if I am not taking unreasonable risks by doing so.

Has anyone had treatment here?  Or seriously considered it?  The link to the website seems to be:
https://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=pl&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fpulsmed.com.pl%2Fcennik.html&anno=2

Regards
JT

I have a thread documenting my experience at Pulsmed. I also visited another clinic in Lodz Poland called Magnus Medical. They use PBSC's (peripheral blood stem cells) collected via apheresis. Magnus Medical is more expensive. They will force you to get an MRI if you do not have one already. Additionally, they forced me into unnecessary, in my opinion, EKG and blood tests. The out the door cost was around $5k USD for Magnus and $2800 for Pulsmed.

Comparing the two clinics, the process is different, but in my opinion, a lot easier at Magnus. You arrive in the morning to collect cells and they're injected an hour or so after collection. The collection process takes around two hours. There is no sedation just local anesthetic during injection. The lipoaspiration at Pulsmed is done under full sedation. After recovery and cell processing the solution is injected. I had SVF / PRP at PulsMed into both knees and PBSC's from Magnus into both of my elbows and shoulder. This includes both the joint itself and the surrounding injured tendons.

In terms of effectiveness, I see a noticeable difference in my elbows and shoulder from my treatment at Magnus Medical. I think the results would be even better, but their technique was merely injecting the fluid into the joint and tendon by feel and not by pinpointing the diseased tissues with ultrasound. There was no tenotomy technique used to disrupt the damaged calcified tissue. This in my opinion is essential and is often times a successful treatment on its own, however, I still see a noticeable difference. I plan on following up with PRP back at home with aggressive peppering. I expect to be around 95-100% after one or more PRP treatments considering how far PBSC's have already gotten me.

As for my knees at Pulsmed. I had two injections into each knee spaced around 1 year apart. I am not sure if there is any regeneration as I did not have a follow up MRI, but am I confident on a molecular level and chemical level it has made a difference. My original issues, verified by MRI, are grade I chondromalacia in addition to inflamed plica in both knees. I did not previously have any symptoms besides inflamed plica. The plica was at times unbearable. In addition to the plica, I had crepitus. I did not have any other knee pain. Post procedure, I have less crepitus and absolutely zero plica discomfort. 

In terms of what is better? There is debate over which method is better. Research supports PBSC's as being the most effective. Additionally, PBSC collection via apheresis in healthy young patients without trafficking cells into the bloodstream with drugs has been shown to provide large amounts of CD34+ cells which are known to cause proliferation. I decided to try both, although, I did not have the treatments done in the same body parts so I cannot compare them head to head. I based my decision to start with SVF for my knees based on cost, several studies, and anecdotal evidence I read on these forums and elsewhere.

To conclude, I think you cannot go wrong with either. I would absolutely recommend either clinic. Having had several surgeries in the US at top hospitals. I did not feel the level of care or the facilities in Poland were much different.

Please search my posts for more detailed information on Pulsmed.

[LateralMeniscusIssuesGuy]

My sincerest thanks for the detailed reply PSNY.

Do you think Magnus would go with an ultrasound guided / peppered approach if requested?

Sorry to the delayed reply, I have not logged on for several weeks.

[psny]

My sincerest thanks for the detailed reply PSNY.

Do you think Magnus would go with an ultrasound guided / peppered approach if requested?

Sorry to the delayed reply, I have not logged on for several weeks.

No, and to be perfectly clear, peppering or fenestration has absolutely nothing to do with intra-articular injections (into the joint). I was referring the injection technique into the extensor tendons of the elbow joint. Conditions such as tendonosis involve chronic scar tissue formation and studies have shown better healing outcome when incorporating tenotomy / fenestration. Doing so breaks up this scar tissue which is compromised of micro nerving endings and tiny capillaries that cause pain in the disorganized poorly healed collagen structure of the tendon.