If you’re middle-aged or younger and suffering from knee pain due to a very active lifestyle, a cartilage transplant could preserve your knee and help prevent further damage or arthritis.
“Knee pain can affect people who are in the prime of their life, especially if you put a lot of stress on your body through physical activity,” says Orthopedic Surgeon Steven J. Hospodar, M.D., with Riverside Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Specialists Gloucester. “This may cause you to lose some cartilage in your knee. Unfortunately, cartilage doesn’t heal itself, but surgically restoring the cartilage can relieve your pain and allow you to return to the activities you love.”
“Our cartilage transplant surgery is unique to the area,” adds Barbaro J. Perez, M.D., also an Orthopedic Surgeon with Riverside Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Specialists Gloucester. “It’s something special that we offer our patients to help them avoid a knee replacement later.”
Drs. Hospodar and Perez explain who should consider this type of surgery and how it works.
Who is eligible for knee preservation surgery?
The ideal candidates for this surgery are those who are 55 or younger, healthy and active, but have knee pain and have lost some cartilage in their knee.
“This procedure works best for people who have some healthy cartilage remaining,” says Dr. Hospodar. “When possible, having surgery to preserve your knee when you’re young is better than undergoing a full knee replacement later.”
How cartilage transplant surgery works
One procedure, called Membrane-induced Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation, uses your own cells to replace your damaged cartilage. MACI is a multi-part process.
First, your doctor will take two or three biopsies of healthy cells from your knee and send them to a lab where they will expand and multiply. Once the cells are ready, your doctor will put them back into your knee, where they will slowly begin to grow new cartilage.
Another type of cartilage transplant is called OATS or osteochondral autograft transfer system; this procedure is performed by both Dr. Perez and Dr. Hospodar. The surgeon takes a small bone plug with cartilage from a non-weight bearing area in the patient’s knee and transplants it to the damaged cartilage area. OATS works best for small areas of damaged cartilage. Alternatively, allograft bone and cartilage from a donor can be used to restore cartilage in your knee. Like MACI, OATS allows for a quicker recovery and may postpone or avoid a total knee replacement in younger patients with cartilage injuries.
Return to your active lifestyle, thanks to your new knee
“It takes approximately six to eight weeks for cartilage to begin to grow,” Dr. Hospodar explains. “However, in order for your surgery to be successful, you must follow the prescribed rehabilitation program.”
In two years, the healthy cells implanted in your body will fully function as normal cartilage. After some time, you’ll be able to return to your favorite activities, such as playing basketball, swimming and even running marathons.
Dr. Hospodar and Dr. Perez have special training to restore your knee and to keep you active.
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