I am looking for an exhaustive research on techniques for cartilage
replacement that can be sprayed in using a simple arthroscopic
procedure for the knee. I have heard from some sources that the
technique is about 2-3 years away from being available. I am looking
for the following answers: 1) Is anyone in the world successfully
doing this surgery now ? and if so what is their contact information,
2) How long is it estimated before the surgery will become available
to the mainstream general public, and 3) any additional facts about
the surgery procedure that may be relevant (such as time of recovery,
cost, current success rate, current research for surgery variations,
etc.).
Specifically, the situation I have is a relatively healthy knee joint
in a 30 year old that has a cartilage defect in on the femur. The
defect is like a canyon where there is no cartilage that runs from the
front all the way to the back of the joint, I believe about 8-10mm
wide. I would like all answers above related to this situation.
Thanks you! |
Clarification of Question by
thrax12-ga
on
08 Apr 2005 14:35 PDT
I am looking for the above information on any cartilage replacement
surgery that can be done arthroscopically - not simply a "spray" style
like mentioned above - if anything else is out there I would like to
know.
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Request for Question Clarification by
umiat-ga
on
27 Apr 2005 07:22 PDT
Hello, thrax12!
Is the following excerpt the type of experimental spray technique you
are referencing?
http://bioinformatics.org/forums/forum.php?forum_id=3229
"Scientists at the University of Manchester in England are trying to
develop a technique through which inkjet nozzles will spray live human
cells onto a patient. Ideally, this would speed up the healing process
because doctors could seed a patient with replacement tissue that
would grow to the size and shape required. The seed cells could also
be grown from a previously harvested sample from the patient, thereby
reducing the chances of donor rejection.
``So far, the Manchester group has employed the technique to spray
(and grow) human fibroblasts and osteoblasts, the cells responsible
for forming, respectively, muscle tissue and bone, according to Brian
Derby, professor of material science at the University of Manchester.
They have also grown bovine chondrocytes, or cartilage cells.''
As evidenced in the full story referenced below, these techniques are
about 5-10 years away from being employed in humans (if successful:)
Full story is available here: http://news.com.com/2100-1041-5656823.html
Is there any other information you might seek about knee replacement
surgery, since information on this topic seems very scarce?
umiat
|
Clarification of Question by
thrax12-ga
on
27 Apr 2005 10:22 PDT
This is along the lines of what I am looking for. The article didn't
mention how a surgery would be done although it seemed like it was a
prodedure done w/o cutting the knee open which is what I am looking
for. I would like more information on this, as well as any other
techniques (I have heard from doctors there is other spray techniques
involving synthetic materials that have either been tried and failed,
or are close to being ready). I am hoping there are more options. As
for the knee replacement, I am not really interested in that as I am
trying to find a fix that does not require open knee surgery. Thanks!
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