Regeneration is always better than replacement. To know more about this procedure we talked to Dr. S.H.Jaheer Hussain, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Trauma & Orthopedic Speciality Hospital ( TOSH ), Chennai,India. He told us-
“Stem cell knee cartilage regeneration for knee Arthritis is considered an alternate to knee replacement . TOSH Hospital is offering this path breaking alternative treatment to knee replacement surgery for patient suffering from Arthritis as a single stage procedure.
This keyhole procedure is done by harvesting stem cell from the patient’s bone marrow in pelvic bone and injecting it into the knee joint. The worn-out cartilage in the knee ,which is the cause of all discomfort and pain is first removed by key hole procedure , then the stem cells which is mixed with a special adhesive gel and injected into the knee joint .The patient remains in the hospital for less than 48 hours. Spinal anaesthesia is given to make both legs numb below the abdomen and the patient remain awake throughout the procedure.
TOSH is the first hospital to introduce the single stage stem cell knee cartilage
regeneration procedure in india in 2012 and has performed 500 such procedures. Out of which 150 patients have advanced arthritis with severe pain and disability .Our methods have been refined to address all aspects of disability like pain, swelling, stiffness and deformity .
Our work has been presented to the scientific world. Our research at Tosh Hospital combined with Catholic University, Seoul South Korea and Christ Church University, Kent, England was presented to peer reviewed journal and published in Japanese society for Regenerative Medicine’s official journal – *Regenerative Therapy.*
This is the first scientific article in this method of treatment in Orthopaedics .
At the beginning we treated only early Arthritis and patients below 65 years. Now with this method we can treat severe advanced Arthritis in any aged patients with deformities and instabilities. We have treated advanced arthritis in the age group of 65-90 years with good success.
As awareness about this procedure is reaching the people, the number of patients undergoing the knee cartilage regeneration procedure is increasing day by day .
The major advantage of stem cell knee cartilage treatment is that it is a natural way to preserve one’s knee and avoid any artificial implant in the body .But knee replacement surgeries require a revision surgery after 15 to 20 years and there is also high risk of infection since foreign material is implanted into the body, loosening and Deep vein thrombosis are other complications.
The stem cell cartilage regeneration treatment can be performed at any age .Since awareness among public is rising towards regenerative therapies, in the next 10 years we expect stem cell knee cartilage regeneration treatment will replace knee replacement by at least 50% globally.”
*{ *Disclaimer- Purpose of this article is just to inform new developments in the field of treatment of knee arthritis. Readers are requested to take a knowledgeable decision after ascertaining the facts from all the sources before opting for this procedure. Writer of this article or the newspaper do not take any responsibility in this regard.}*
by Vikas Chandra Agarwal