Siberian tiger 1st in world to receive stem cell treatment for joints

Igor, a Siberian tiger at the Szeged Zoo in southern Hungary, was treated with a stem cell treatment procedure for his hip joint here on Wednesday.

The 13-year-old carnivore, who had been suffering from joint pains for many years, was treated with a new Lipogems process that has already been successfully used to treat human joints in Hungary. Igor was the world's first Siberian tiger to be treated with the Lipogems stem cell procedure.

The 13-year-old Siberian tiger Igor's hip joint is treated with a stem-cell procedure [File Photo: Xinhua]

The process cures the injured joints with a tissue taken from the patient's own fatty tissue, which contains regenerative stem cells. As in the case of people suffering from joint disorder, Igor's hip joint was treated by doctors in a treatment that lasted a day.

The technology to improve the quality of life of patients suffering from joint disorders was developed in Italy in 2010.

The Lipogems procedure has been available in Hungary in human medicine for years, but the veterinary application only started recently. Its use in this therapeutic area is still relatively new. In Central and Eastern Europe, it is currently available only in Hungary, where dogs and horses have been treated.

Igor is expected to make a full recovery in three months.