Nuclear Medicine

Services: Surgery Internal Medicine Diagnostics Nuclear Medicine Surgical Support

Sun City Veterinary Surgery Center now offers a new state-of-the-art nuclear medicine treatment for osteoarthritis pain called Synovetin OA (Sn117). Synovetin OA is a radioactive material that is injected into a joint and targets the cells in the joint that release substances that cause pain, inflammation, lameness, and lead to the progression of osteoarthritis. Synovetin OA only affects the treated joint(s) and is not absorbed into your dog’s body like traditional anti-inflammatory drugs and other treatments.

Current studies show that 71% of Synovetin OA-treated dogs with severe pain and 91% of Synovetin OA-treated dogs with mild to moderate pain had significant improvement in pain relief beyond a year with one injection of Synovetin OA.

Osteoarthritis (OA) and degenerative joint disease (DJD) are very common causes of limping and lameness in dogs. OA associated pain is often driven by inflammation of the soft tissue lining the inside of the joint, called the synovium. This inflammation, called synovitis, causes pain and also drives the progression of osteoarthritis. This pain can significantly affect your dog’s quality of life resulting in:

Limping
Difficulty going up and down stairs
Struggling to get up after lying down
Trouble walking on slick floors
Problems hopping in and out of vehicles
Difficulty jumping on and off furniture
Behavioral changes (e.g. aggression)

Administration of Synovetin is an out-patient procedure. A brief sedation is administered while an injection is made into the joint(s), and the patient is discharged within a few hours. Follow-up exams are scheduled to monitor the patient’s progress.