Semitendinosus myopathy and treatment with adipose-derived stem cells in working German shepherd police dogs.

Semitendinosus myopathy has been treated with numerous surgical and non-surgical therapies resulting in recurrence of lameness within 2 to 9 months. Eleven cases of semitendinosus myopathy diagnosed in 8 working police dogs that were treated with adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells were retrospectively evaluated. At short-term follow-up < 6 mo, ultrasound and gait evaluations revealed a mean reduction in the overall intramuscular lesion size of 54.82% (SD +/- 18.02; range: 30.5% to 82.7%) and reduction in the Visual Assessment Score (VAS) of 1 to 3 points. At long-term follow-up > 1 y, in 8 cases the dogs had a normal gait and in 3 cases the dogs had an improved gait compared with initial examination, and all 8 dogs returned to active police work. Fisher's exact test resulted in P = 0.000008 when comparing published historical reports and these 11 cases for resolution of lameness and return to active duty.