Saturday, December 19, 2015

Routine Knee arthroscopy has no evidence of benefit

Routine knee arthroscopy has no benefit
Biological injections work better

Has your orthopedic surgeon offered you knee arthroscopy for a meniscal tear? Don't waste your money on it. Even if it is not your money and insurance is paying for it, still you should not waste your time and effort on it.  A recent editorial from a leading Orthopedic journal opines that routine knee arthroscopy is a waste of time. This finding only re echoes a leading paper published in 2002 in the New England journal of medicine. Read the news here. 


Instead biological injections will work better. To know more about biologicals for your case, get an appointment with drvenkat@kneeindia.com

Sunday, December 13, 2015

High tibial Osteotomy India

This young patient had undergone a high tibial Osteotomy for meniscal deficiency. Still he has pain. He needs further joint preservation procedures in Chennai.  

Thursday, November 12, 2015

PCL reconstruction India Dr.A.K.Venkatachalam

PCL reconstruction India Dr.A.K.Venkatachalam. Patient review after 11 years. He is doing well and has no knee pain. Ligament reconstruction helps in joint preservation. To get a PCL reconstruction India, e mail- drvenkat@kneeindia.com





Sunday, October 04, 2015

Monday, September 14, 2015

Single stage cartilage repair | stem cells | India

Young lady had single stage cartilage repair with own stem cells for knee cap damage. It is useful for mainly young patients with local cartilage damage and can be combined with other key hole joint preservation procedures. To get this procedure for yourself, e mail-drvenkat@kneeindia.com



Friday, September 04, 2015

Stem cell injection into ankle

Patients with early posttraumatic ankle arthritis can benefit from a stem cell injection into the joint as seen here. This patient got pain relief in six weeks.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Single stage cartilage repair and ACL reconstruction India


Stem cell augmented ACL reconstruction & single stage cartilage repair Gym injury
A young Seem Andhra lady underwent Anterior Cruciate ligament reconstruction and single stage cartilage repair of her knee for the first time in Chennai. This will preserve her knee joint from further deterioration.
Case report-
Mrs.  S Y, a 32 year old lady from Seem Andhra was troubled for over three years with an unstable knee.  She had damaged the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee in a gym accident about three years ago. This resulted in episodes of giving away of her left knee.  She didn’t pay much heed to this for the last two years.
Only a recent second injury focused her attention to this knee.  An MRI scan revealed an old cruciate ligament injury and cartilage damage on the backside of the knee cap. This combination of two joint injuries disabled Mrs. S considerably. She couldn’t sit down on the floor, kneel or perform gym activities. She consulted Dr.A.K.Venkatachalam, orthopedic surgeon at Chennai Meenakshi multi-specialty hospital. Dr.Venkatachalam recommended an ACL reconstruction combined with cartilage repair in one sitting. He explained that this combined surgery would shorten her recovery period and allow her to get back on her feet faster.
In the first part of the operation, he performed an anatomic arthroscopic ACL reconstruction.  This procedure reconstructed her missing ACL with her hamstring tendon in an anatomical method. During the second part of the same operation, Dr.Venkat repaired the damaged cartilage under the knee cap with stem cell concentrate and fibrin glue. He first aspirated stem cells from her bone marrow. These were processed to yield a concentrate.  An ml of this stem cell concentrate was mixed with an ml of fibrinogen and injected under arthroscopic visual guidance over the damaged cartilage as fibrin stem cell glue.  The stem cell fibrin glue set in five minutes.  Eventually it will mature into cartilage. The defective area of cartilage was thus repaired in a single stage with stem cells
Dr. Venkat then delivered the remaining stem cell concentrate to the two sites of the new ligament’s attachment. This is known as stem cell augmentation of ACL reconstruction. Stem cells should hopefully reconstitute the natural tissues at the interface of the ligament.  This is also a novel procedure in Chennai.  
Mrs. S was discharged two days later and has been undergoing physical therapy. She is progressing well. She says that the knee feels stable. The grinding sensation under the knee cap has disappeared suggesting that the stem cell glue is coating the damaged area. Over the next few months, the stem cell glue should regenerate hyaline like cartilage which is akin to the natural joint cartilage.  

Discussion-
 ACL injuries are the commonest ligament injury of the knee. They need surgical reconstruction in young and active patients to avoid further damage.  Untreated ACL injuries can result in further damage to the menisci and articular cartilage in active patients.  Accompanying meniscal and cartilage injuries will only hasten the deterioration.  A combination of ligament, meniscal and cartilage injuries can lead to early arthritis. Hence repair of all damaged structures is recommended in young patients.
 Joint preservation entails surgical reconstruction of ligaments, menisci and regeneration of cartilage. Each of these procedures is ideally done as a separate operation and is followed by a necessary and specific type of physical therapy.  Most of these patients suffering from a combination of knee injuries have busy schedules and can’t afford to spend much time for physical therapy. However proper physical therapy is a necessary part of the treatment for each of the procedures. Combining two surgical procedures effectively shortens the rehab period as the common part of the physical therapy for two procedures can be squeezed into one.
The highlight of this operation is that two surgical procedures, namely ACL reconstruction and single stage cartilage repair with stem cells were combined in one sitting for the benefit of the patient. This would lead to Joint preservation in this young patient.  
Joint preservation and stem cells are the new frontier in orthopedic surgery. Medicinal signaling cells (MSC’s) popularly known as stem cells play a major role in joint preservation. These procedures are mainly useful in young and middle aged patients. They put a halt to further damage and prevent osteo-arthritis. This is the first time in Chennai that a joint preservation operation combined two separate surgical procedures to give the best possible result to the patient.
Key words: stem cell augmented ACL reconstruction, single stage cartilage repair, stem cells, Joint preservation

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Cricketer received Stem cell injection into both knees


A league cricketer from the US received stem cell injections into both knees and meniscus. He was suffering from cartilage damage under both knee caps and degeneration of the meniscus. 

Sunday, August 09, 2015

Knee Joint preservation gets young lady back to her feet.


What is Joint Preservation surgery? 

Joint preservation is a new concept in Orthopaedic surgery which entails the preservation of the natural joint for prolonged periods without the need to replace it by a metal prosthesis. It consists of early diagnosis and surgical methods to address joint problems at an early stage. If the damaged tissues can be repaired/ regenerated successfully, then the joint can be restored to a healthy state and will give more mileage.
The Knee joint offers Orthopaedic surgeons plenty of opportunities for preservation for the following reasons. 
1) It is the largest joint 
2) It is the commonest joint to be injured
3) It is easily accessible for examination.
4) It can be easily treated with minimally invasive surgery. 

See how a joint preservation surgery restored a young woman's knee back to normal in this press release. Visit www.kneeindia.com for more information. 






Tuesday, July 07, 2015