Veterinary Solutions

Innovative, Progressive Practice

Northside Veterinary Hospital is a small-town veterinary facility within shouting distance of three state borders: Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana.

The state-of-the-art two-person practice keeps Dr. Wood and Amy Boxberger, DVM, busy and constantly challenged. "Because of our rural location, there are no specialty clinics nearby," said Dr. Wood. "Our patients count on us to provide total care, which means we do lots of different procedures. In fact, we are an AAHA-approved clinic and provide a reasonable alternative to a specialty facility."

Northside's broad range of services include advanced orthopedic and soft tissue surgery; laser surgery; anesthesia; chemotherapy; endoscopy; and small animal, exotic, and equine medicine and surgery. "We try to be proactive and progressive," said Dr. Wood. "When somebody in the area hears something on the news about a new veterinary procedure or breakthrough, they call us up. We're not afraid to be first - especially if it is going to help one of our patients."

Putting ACell Vet™ through its Paces

In keeping with Northside's technology leadership role, Dr. Wood was one of the first practicing veterinarians to use ACell Vet™ in a clinical setting. To date, he has used it in more than 200 cases. "I was intrigued with the tissue engineering and it's potential in veterinary medicine," reports Dr. Wood. "The results have been extremely positive. We have used ACell Vet™ in wound care, knee joint reconstruction, oral reconstruction, cruciate ligament disease, cartilage defects, corneal ulcers, gastrointestinal reconstruction, and to provide tissue lost due to cancer.

In terms of patients, we have seen successful outcomes on all types of animals including dogs, cats, horses, even kangaroos. I'm sure sooner or later we'll need it for a reindeer as well."

Dr. Wood pointed out that he has been particularly impressed with results in some very difficult cases. "Many breeds of dogs and cats have flat faces that leave their eyes susceptible to impact injuries and corneal ulcers. This often results in indolent ulcers that just won't heal using traditional treatments. We've had a great deal of success treating these injuries, and eliminating the ulcers, with ACell Vet."

Dr. Wood has also found a solution for stubborn full thickness wounds in horses. "ACell Vet's ability to rebuild a tissue instead of repairing it by producing scar tissue has proved extremely valuable in treating equine full thickness wounds below the knee. Before we used ACell Vet, these wounds typically generated "proud flesh" (exuberant granulation tissue) that required trimming. With ACell Vet, we don't seem to get that cauliflower fetlock. They heal beautifully."

Staying Out In Front

Dr. Wood has made ACell and tissue engineering an important component of his fast growing practice. He plans to continue to expand his use of tissue engineering and to stay on top of new and innovative treatments as they become available. "We're going to continue to push the veterinary treatment envelope in order to achieve better outcomes for our patients."

Take a look at Dr. Wood's ACell Vet™ Case Studies: