New procedure – geniculate artery embolisation – reduces knee arthritis inflammation and pain

A minimally invasive procedure called geniculate artery embolisation shows promise in the treatment of people with knee arthritis, a team of experts outlines in The Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology.

Image guided, geniculate artery embolization decreases inflammation and pain by blocking abnormal blood vessels in the knee. It is carried out under moderate sedation and patients are discharged the same day.

The latest evidence involved a total of 20 volunteers aged 49–84 years with knee osteoarthritis who underwent the procedure. Their arthritis was assessed with MRI scans at the start of the study and one, three and six months later.

Levels of both pain and inflammation were decreased after the procedure, even six months later.

“This pilot study demonstrated that genicular artery embolization can work to decrease inflammation and pain related to knee osteoarthritis,” says Dr Sandeep Bagla, who led the work. “This can potentially offer many millions of patients treatment for their knee pain when they are not yet quite ready for knee replacement surgery or not good operative candidates.”

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