One-step cartilage repair for knee injuries

Prof Daniel Saris led the pioneering cartilage treatment

The world’s first one-step repair operation for damaged knee cartilage is on the menu at a University Medical Centre in the Netherlands. The procedure involves removing cartilage cells from the damaged knee and mixing them with specially selected donor stem cells. This cell mixture is then applied to the damaged area in the knee during the same operation.

It means that only one procedure is required instead of the usual two operations at an interval of three months. And costs could fall by as much as 75%.

Cartilage damage in the knee

Cartilage damage in the knee is seen relatively often in active people, both young and middle aged. It can be painful and become a permanent hindrance to daily activities and exercise. It can also lead to further wear of the knee and invalidity.

 Some patients are eligible for a cartilage transplant, but although this treatment is effective, it is currently an expensive procedure requiring two operations: one for taking a biopsy to harvest cartilage cells to be cultured, and a second operation three months later to place the cultured cartilage back in the knee.

With this new technique, the surgeon removes the damaged cartilage edges and mixes the patient’s own cartilage cells with selected donor stem cells and tissue glue. This makes the time-consuming culturing of cartilage redundant. The mixture is immediately placed back in the knee, after which the damage repairs itself and the patient can recover.

A link to the hospital can be found here: www.umcutrecht.nl/zorg.