An orthopaedic surgeon in Santa Barbara and Solvang, California offering bone marrow stem cell injections alongside hip and knee replacement and fracture care.
Christopher E. Birch, MD is an orthopaedic surgeon practising in Santa Barbara and Solvang, California. His main surgical work is hip and knee replacement, together with fracture care and orthopaedic trauma. The page reviewed here covers the regenerative side of the practice, in which cells taken from the patient's own body are injected into a damaged joint or soft tissue as an alternative to an operation.
The treatment described uses adult stem cells drawn from the patient's own bone marrow. The site specifies that the marrow is taken from the iliac crest, the ridge of the pelvic bone at the top of the hip, and refers to the cells as mesenchymal stem cells, a type of cell found in marrow that can develop into bone, cartilage and other connective tissue. Because the cells come from the patient, no donor tissue is involved.
The stated targets for treatment are arthritis in a joint, degenerative changes in the shoulder, knee, hip and spine, and injuries to muscle, ligament or tendon, along with bone injuries. Being clear about what is not on the page is important: there is no year of establishment, no opening hours, no fee information, and no statement about languages or overseas patients. Anyone considering this treatment should ask what published evidence supports bone marrow cell injection for their specific joint problem.
This practice uses the patient's own cells only; no donor or birth-tissue product is described.
One surgeon is named.
The practice covers Santa Barbara and Solvang in California. The page reviewed does not give a street address, telephone number or opening hours, does not say when the practice was established, does not list languages spoken other than English, and does not mention any service for patients travelling from abroad.
No prices are published. The cost of a consultation and of a bone marrow stem cell injection is not stated, and the page does not say whether insurance covers any part of the treatment.
Profile compiled from information published on the clinic's own website and from the StemCell Registry directory record. Details may change; confirm directly with the clinic before making decisions.