Hi All:
I am curious if anyone has tried stem cell therapy for a bad knee. As I have researched it, this consists of injecting stem cells from the hip into the knee to either help re-grow or otherwise cushion the knee. I have a severely arthritic knee (bone on bone) which dates from having torn cartilage and an operation for it back in the stone age of surgery (1977 when I was 16). I had another operation on it in 1998 and about 3 years ago it seems that all remaining cartilage or any other cushioning disappeared. I tried an injection of synthetic cartilage after this, but it didn't help the situation.
I'd like to try all options before thinking about a knee replacement and, from what I read, this treatment seems promising. But it appears to be rather new, so if anyone has tried it with success, I would like to hear about it. I haven't been able to do breaststroke in 3 years, which is kind of a bummer for a life long breaststroker. I was given feet that point out naturally, but a bum knee to go along with them.
Please let me know if you've tried this, where you went and what the results have been.
Just had the treatment for arthritic knee (bone on bone) with two slight meniscus tears. Highly recommend this procedure over traditional knee replacement. The procedure I had was done in 3 stages over 1 week. Wednesday the knee was injected with "sugar" to prepare it for the stem cells. Friday the stem cells were removed from the back and re-injected into the knee. Then Wednesday the knee was re-injected with my own blood platelets. The procedures are simple and a bit painful but certainly no more painful than the constant knee pain I've had over the last year while trying to decide what to do. Last night was the first time I've seen my knee cap in 6 months. The stem cell and platelet injections require 1-2 days on crutches with 2-3 more days partial bearing. Using crutches has been the difficult part!
I used Stem Cell Arts in McLean, VA.
Just had the treatment for arthritic knee (bone on bone) with two slight meniscus tears. Highly recommend this procedure over traditional knee replacement. The procedure I had was done in 3 stages over 1 week. Wednesday the knee was injected with "sugar" to prepare it for the stem cells. Friday the stem cells were removed from the back and re-injected into the knee. Then Wednesday the knee was re-injected with my own blood platelets. The procedures are simple and a bit painful but certainly no more painful than the constant knee pain I've had over the last year while trying to decide what to do. Last night was the first time I've seen my knee cap in 6 months. The stem cell and platelet injections require 1-2 days on crutches with 2-3 more days partial bearing. Using crutches has been the difficult part!
I used Stem Cell Arts in McLean, VA.
