# What happens during the office procedure? *stem cell therapy Surprise | What Happens at the Visit* > How is stem cell therapy done? This stem cell therapy Surprise page covers the exam, marrow or fat draw, joint procedure, and care at home. This page walks through the exam, the procedure, and the trip home. First, the staff reviews your health and medicines. Next comes the joint exam and any marrow, fat, or blood draw. You’ll get care directions before leaving. ## What will they check before starting? The clinic will need your medicine list, allergies, health history, and earlier joint care. Tell the staff about bleeding, infection, recent illness, or active cancer treatment. Don’t change a blood thinner unless the doctor who prescribed it agrees. This review helps the staff decide whether the procedure can go ahead. The doctor will ask where the joint hurts and move it during the exam. Ask what those checks found and why the proposed procedure fits. I’d ask whether follow-up will compare your soreness, sleep, walking, or use of stairs. You’ll then have a clear way to judge any change. At QC Kinetix, regenerative treatment options are office procedures where a doctor or another licensed medical provider examines your joint and may use spun marrow, washed fat, or platelets separated from your blood. Each joint and procedure won’t be exactly alike. Ask who’ll perform yours and what each part will involve. It shouldn’t begin until the explanation makes sense to you. ## What does bone marrow aspirate concentrate mean? Bone marrow aspirate concentrate is marrow removed near the rear of your pelvis and spun so a smaller liquid portion keeps more cells. Aspirate simply means marrow removed with a needle. Concentrate means the spinning keeps that smaller portion. The finished shot doesn’t contain a new drug; it contains parts of your own marrow. For a fat procedure, the doctor numbs skin near the abdomen or another chosen area. A small amount of fat is removed, washed, and broken into smaller pieces. That spot and your joint may both feel tender later. Ask whether the needle is guided by touch or by a scan shown on a screen. ## What do I need before going home? Ask whether you’ll have a dressing at the joint and another over the pelvis or abdomen. Written directions need to cover both sore spots, walking, driving, work, and allowed medicines. They also need an after-hours number. Keep it where you and your driver can find it. Set up the ride before the appointment unless the clinic says it isn’t needed. Sitting can feel awkward after marrow or fat has been removed. Leave errands for a different day if you can. The trip home is easier when there’s no need to hurry. ## Sources 1. A retrospective comparison of 523 bone marrow aspiration procedures against 435 open iliac crest bone graft harvests found aspiration significantly reduced complications - relevant because marrow aspiration for a joint injection is a real procedure with a real, if low, complication rate. Hernigou P, et al. — [Morbidity of graft harvesting versus bone marrow aspiration in cell regenerative therapy](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24658874/). *Int Orthop*, 2014. DOI: 10.1007/s00264-014-2318-x. 2. In 96 patients, concentrated bone marrow aspirate contained a mean of 26.3 million nucleated cells per mL but only about 1,422 colony-forming units of connective tissue progenitors, and the nucleated cell count had negligible predictive value for how many progenitor cells were actually present (r-squared 0.28). Muench LN, et al. — [Nucleated Cell Count Has Negligible Predictive Value for the Number of Colony-Forming Units for Connective Tissue Progenitor Cells (Stem Cells) in Bone Marrow Aspirate Harvested From the Proximal Humerus During Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33581306/). *Arthroscopy*, 2021. DOI: 10.1016/j.arthro.2021.01.064. 3. Mesenchymal stromal cells make up only about 0.001 to 0.01 percent of the nucleated cells in bone marrow, so the harvesting and processing technique - aspiration site, syringe size, centrifuge speed and time - materially determines what ends up in the syringe, and no consensus protocol exists. Jeyaraman M, et al. — [Impact of the Process Variables on the Yield of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells from Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35200410/). *Bioengineering (Basel)*, 2022. DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering9020057. 4. The 2018 AAOS/NIH consensus work group recommended that minimally manipulated mixed cell preparations be called CELL THERAPY rather than stem cell therapy, and that their untested and uncharacterised nature be clearly communicated to patients and the public, because stem cells have properties these preparations do not meet. Chu CR, et al. — [Optimizing Clinical Use of Biologics in Orthopaedic Surgery: Consensus Recommendations From the 2018 AAOS/NIH U-13 Conference](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30300216/). *J Am Acad Orthop Surg*, 2019. DOI: 10.5435/JAAOS-D-18-00305. 5. The International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy position statement holds that the acronym MSC should mean mesenchymal STROMAL cells and should only be called stem cells where rigorous in vitro and in vivo evidence of stemness exists for that specific preparation. Viswanathan S, et al. — [Mesenchymal stem versus stromal cells: International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy (ISCT®) Mesenchymal Stromal Cell committee position statement on nomenclature](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31526643/). *Cytotherapy*, 2019. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcyt.2019.08.002. 6. 21 CFR 1271.10(a) sets the four criteria a human cell or tissue product must meet to be regulated SOLELY under section 361 of the Public Health Service Act: it must be minimally manipulated; intended for homologous use only, as reflected by labeling and advertising; not combined with another article beyond water, crystalloids or a preserving agent; and either have no systemic effect and not depend on the metabolic activity of living cells, or else be for autologous use, use in a close blood relative, or reproductive use. US Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21 — [21 CFR 1271.10 - Are my HCT/P's regulated solely under section 361 of the PHS Act](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-L/part-1271/subpart-A/section-1271.10). *null*, 2004. 7. On 27 September 2024 the Ninth Circuit held in United States v. California Stem Cell Treatment Center that stromal vascular fraction produced by enzymatically digesting a patient's own fat IS a drug under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and that the same surgical procedure exception does not apply because the removed fat and the implanted SVF are not the same thing. The district court's ruling for the clinics was reversed. United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit — [United States v. California Stem Cell Treatment Center, Inc., No. 22-56014 (9th Cir. Sept. 27, 2024)](https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2024/09/27/22-56014.pdf). *null*, 2024. ## What can I ask at the consultation? Take a list of your medicines, old joint records, and notes on the tasks that now hurt. Ask what the exam suggests and which non-surgical choices fit. Your first consultation won’t cost anything. Get the procedure, recovery, follow-up, and price explained in plain words. Ask when surgery or another opinion may make more sense. You can wait to decide until those answers are clear. Book a free consultation: --- Plain answers for a joint that keeps bothering you. Answers about aching joints, useful home steps, office choices, recovery, cost, and the Peoria trip for stem cell therapy Surprise. Plain answers about joint soreness, office visits, recovery, and the drive from Surprise to Peoria. This site is operated by the owners of the QC Kinetix Phoenix-area clinics, including the Peoria office recommended here, and the business benefits when a reader books. © 2026 Surprise Procedure Map. General health education, not personal medical advice; urgent symptoms need appropriate medical assessment.