Stem Cell Medicine In Las Vegas

Solving Medical Mysteries

By Susan Gonsalves

One man had a number of disc problems as well as severe hand and foot arthritis, the latter causing swelling that necessitated special shoes. One woman was told she needed her feet amputated due to decade-old wound ulcers. And one doctor—William H. Baumgartl, MD, MSME—treated them both with stem cell procedures that he is happy to report reduced the man’s swelling (orthopedic shoes be gone), and the lady’s wounds have nearly healed.

“There’s been remarkable change,” says Dr. Baumgartl. “It’s nothing short of amazing and very gratifying to work with advanced stem cell procedures.”

Baumgartl is the director of Stem Cell Therapies at Nevada Spine Center, and heads up the center’s Second Opinion/Consult Program for Advanced Pain Diagnosis. He’s also the go-to guy for patients who have sought help elsewhere without success, noting he is “unfazed” when trying to come up with solutions for complex medical problems that have baffled others.

A University of Florida Medical School graduate, Baumgartl received his undergraduate and master’s degrees from Virginia Tech in mechanical engineering, a fact that has proven invaluable to his job now. “The engineering field is based on training you to think and learn knowledge,” he says. “I went to so many lectures on how to solve problems. It’s all about figuring things out that were never done before.

 “What we see in medicine is something we’ve never seen before,” he says. “Some doctors are insecure to come up with a solution. I’ve always tried to take an engineering approach to medicine. I like to see medical mysteries and solve them.”

Regenerative medicine is gradually becoming the focus of Baumgartl’s practice at Nevada Spine Center, where he landed a year ago following a 20-year career in the California’s San Francisco Bay. There, he developed various techniques for pain control.

Acknowledging that the Food and Drug Administration limits what procedures U.S. practitioners can perform using stem cells, Baumgartl notes that he has treated patients successfully using adipose, or fat tissue, as a source of stem cells to migrate to damaged areas and repair them. He also takes a holistic approach to relieving patients’ pain and works closely with his colleagues at the center to find the option that best suits the situation.

The Nevada Spine Center comprises two orthopedic surgeons, two physician assistants and two pain management specialists. The team provides what he calls an “integrated one-stop shopping” environment for patients with spinal and orthopedic problems: individuals can get evaluations, imaging, pre-care before surgery, advanced surgery, and after-care/rehabilitation, all under the same roof.

“The goal is to make life acceptable for them,” says Baumgartl. “The magic happens here.”

Double-boarded in anesthesiology and pain medicine by the American Board of Anesthesiology, Baumgartl has had training in hormone replacement therapy, addiction medicine, acupuncture, and orthopedic surgery…all of which helps him to consider a patient’s hormones, nutrition and mental well being as he develops big-picture pain management plans.

“We carefully construct what [treatment] makes sense for each patient,” he says.

The first line of defense for pain is usually drugs: namely, opiates and narcotics, which, he says, are not effective long-term and may actually increase pain over time. Addiction to these substances has also been well documented. Adverse effects to the immune and cardiovascular systems are also consequences.

Emphasizing that pharmaceuticals play an important role in patient care, Baumgartl says that there are alternatives to solving problems, and that drugs should be selected and engineered specifically to address the patient’s needs. (For example, medicines can be engineered into a cream to apply locally, blocking the pain on the spot and avoiding interference with brain signals while still providing relief.)

Implantable pump and stimulator technologies are other techniques he employs. A spinal pump, for example, works by delivering pain medication directly into the spine in lower doses over time. Additionally, modern spine stimulators can feature 32 points of contact and a variety of 1,200 frequencies. The wires, covering a large area, are connected to a battery and the lead spacing generates the necessary interference pattern…in short, sending a signal from the stimulation to override the patient’s pain signal while improving oxygenation onto extremities to the tissues. The doctor notes that some patients can’t stand the feeling of stimulation, but when the process is done at higher frequencies, it is so fast they cannot feel it.

“You are only limited by your imagination,” Baumgartl says, about creating and finding solutions to medical issues. “Engineering allowed my career to take off. It is the best preparation for medicine there is. I’ll find a solution to work for patients. If there is no solution, I’ll create one for them.”

The fact that Baumgartl is a jazz saxophone player and pianist (in college he minored in piano performance) also gives him insight into his work.

“I understand musicians who come in. They don’t have to explain why having soreness in their finger concerns them. Or a violinist whose shoulder hurts. I understand, `This is a big deal,’ and work to help them heal as quickly as possible.”

Baumgartl feels fortunate to practice medicine in such an emerging field. “I’m really excited that we can now make things happen. Stem cells are the future of medicine. They can be used to repair damaged tissue and in spinal cord injury rehab,” he says.

“In 10 years, I believe there will be no joint replacements. You’ll see the number of spinal surgeries go way down. It’s exciting.”

Susan Gonsalves’ 30-year career in journalism has included newspaper, magazine and higher education work with an emphasis on mental health, business and entertainment topics. She is based in Massachusetts.