You may not be aware of this but our own Dr. John Santa Ana spent time in the military, where he received much of his medical training. While receiving his training at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, MD, he began to first be exposed to the advancements that were occurring in regenerative medicine.
One advantage of being in the military, and being at Walter Reed was the exposure not only to the medical breakthroughs that were occurring at Walter Reed, but at other nearby facilities such as Georgetown, Johns Hopkins and the NIH just to name a few. In addition, when treating military patients, doctors don’t have to jump through the various hoops required for patients with traditional medical insurance. Instead the military just wants their service members to be taken care of in the best way possible, which is how Dr. Santa Ana and his colleagues began to look at regenerative medicine as a way to treat ailing service members.
Limitations of Current Science and Medication Required Military Doctors to Look at Regenerative Medicine
Before Dr. Santa Ana and his team began to look at regenerative medicine, a service member’s health plan looked similar to today’s traditional medicine options after someone is injured. They typically first go to Physical Therapy, then possibly surgery followed by a cocktail of potentially addictive painkillers. For military service members this meant significant time away from their unit. Dr. Santa Ana and his team thought that there had to be a better way.
Because the military was not encumbered by the traditional insurance industry, they were able to look at new technologies involving regenerative medicine, PRP and stem cells to help soldiers heal faster, better and with less downtime.
Proof that Regenerative Medicine Really Works
One story that really showed Dr. Santa Ana the benefits of regenerative medicine involved a soldier who had torn his Achilles tendon. This was a complex injury where 95% of the tendon was torn. Typically, this would require the soldier to be in a boot for several months and obviously non deployable. Dr. Santa Ana and his team pitched an idea to this service member about using his own blood to try and repair his Achilles tendon. The soldier ended up agreeing and 2 injections were completed over a few weeks. Even before the medical team took a second MRI, the soldier was able to run without pain. Further, he ended up not having to have the Achilles surgery that would have put him out of commission for so long. This is when Dr. Santa Ana began to really see the opportunities that were available, not only for military service members, but anyone who was dealing with these types of chronic injuries that often required complex surgery.
Interested in Learning More About the Power of Regenerative Medicine?
Dr. Santa Ana is extremely proud of his time in the military, especially because it exposed him to the many benefits of regenerative medicine. If you’d like to learn more about how regenerative medicine may be able to help with some of your health conditions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us today by phone at (248) 216-1008 or use our online contact form to reach out via email.