Gold beads are a form of permanent acupuncture where the “needle” stays in the acupuncture point, hence permanently produces a stimulus. The beads are inserted into the acupuncture points through a needle. The procedure is done in a sterile operating room with the patient under general anaesthesia.

The stimulus, the beads cause in the acupuncture points, include blocking pain pathways back to the brain as well as causing the release of endorphins and serotonin.

If you want to know more check out these two studies:

Double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of the pain-relieving effects of the implantation of gold beads into dogs with hip dysplasia: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16731702

Two years follow-up study of the pain-relieving effect of gold bead implantation in dogs with hip-joint arthritis: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1851017/

Of course there is a lot of controversy regarding acupuncture, whether it is hocus pocus or actually has an effect let alone a benefit for the patient whatsoever, but those practicing acupuncture see the results on a daily basis and some of you might have experienced them by yourself.

Some Frequently Asked Questions answered by Dr. Dieter and Dr. Sigrun, the two surgeons in Blue Oasis Veterinary Clinic that perform the Gold Bead Implantation procedure: