SAN DIEGO, Calif. (Ivanhoe Newswire) – From professional athletes to weekend warriors, knee pain is one of the most common sports injuries for men and women. Complex knee injuries are some of the most difficult to treat – that’s when multiple parts of the knee – ligaments, meniscus, cartilage and bone – are damaged at the same time. It can sideline athletes for years, if not for life. Now, new transplant options are giving new life into damaged knees. knee Surgeries
Tatum Vedder’s passion is playing volleyball. She served, set and spiked her way through high school and college, but this competitive volleyball player was benched at age 22 when something snapped.
“When the injury happened, the snap was almost louder than it felt,” Tatum recalls.
Tatum suffered tears to her anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus. Her cartilage was separated from the bottom of her thigh bone. Three different surgeries and 20 months in physical therapy, Tatum was still in pain.
“I just was struggling to get better,” she says.
Orthopedic surgeon at Scripps Clinic in San Diego, California, Tim Wang, MD took a unique approach to treat Tatum. He reconstructed the ACL, but also performed two rare transplant surgeries. First he took living cartilage and bone from a donor. He removed a small coin-shaped cylinder of damaged cartilage and underlying bone and replaced it with a section of healthy donor cartilage and bone.
“It’s almost like patching a piece of drywall, in that we can drill out, or ream out a coin-shaped hole where the problem is and create a matching coin from a donor,” Dr. Wang explains.
The other surgery involved replacing Tatum’s medial meniscus with healthy tissue from a donor.
Tatum proudly says, “I feel strong and stable. A hundred percent, I feel like it worked.”
After physical therapy, Tatum celebrated back out at the beach – this time, riding the waves, and getting back into the game.
Dr. Wang says the best candidates for the transplants are active men and women who are younger than 40 years old, and who have tried physical therapy or steroid injections but are still in pain.
Contributors to this news report include: Marsha Lewis, Producer; Matt Goldschmidt, Videographer; Roque Correa, Editor.
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MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS
RESEARCH SUMMARY
TITLE: BACK IN THE GAME! NEW HOPE FOR COMPLEX KNEE SURGERIES
REPORT: MB #5371
BACKGROUND: Knee surgeries encompass a broad range of procedures aimed at addressing various injuries, conditions, and disorders affecting the knee joint. About 790,000 knee surgeries are performed in the United States every year. There are several types of knee surgeries, each targeting specific issues within the knee joint. Some common knee surgeries include: meniscectomy, meniscus repair, meniscus transplant, plica removal, lateral release, microfracture, ACL reconstruction, tendon repair, knee replacements, and arthrotomy.
https://rheumatology.org/patients/joint-replacement-surgery#
https://www.joionline.net/trending/content/what-are-most-common-types-knee-surgery)
DIAGNOSING: Knee surgery may be recommended to treat a variety of conditions and injuries, including: osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, ligament injuries, meniscus tears, and/or kneecap disorders. Like any surgical procedure, knee surgeries carry risks and potential complications, including infection, blood clots, nerve damage, stiffness, and implant failure. However, these risks are generally low, and most patients experience significant improvement in knee function and quality of life following surgery.
(Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/knee-replacement/about/pac-20385276)
NEW TECHNOLOGY: Orthopedic surgeon, Tim Wang, MD at Scripps Clinic in San Diego is using a different technique to treat knee injuries in patients. “He reconstructed the ACL, but also performed two rare transplant surgeries. First he took living cartilage and bone from a donor. He removed a small coin-shaped cylinder of damaged cartilage and underlying bone and replaced it with a section of healthy donor cartilage and bone… The other surgery involved replacing the patient’s medial meniscus with healthy tissue from a donor.”
(Source: Tim Wang, MD, Orthopedic Surgeon, Scripps Clinic, San Diego, CA)
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT, PLEASE CONTACT:
Stephen Carpowich
Carpowich.stephen@scrippshealth.org
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