In recent years, due to the increase in obesity and heavy sports performed unconsciously and without professional support, the age of knee arthritis has decreased to young-middle ages. The main purpose of arthritis treatment is to relieve or reduce pain and increase function. To achieve this, drug treatments, physical therapy, and intra-articular injections are frequently used non-surgical options. For patients who do not benefit from non-surgical treatments, different surgical options are applied depending on the severity of calcification. Orthopedics and Traumatology Specialist Asst. Assoc. Dr. Levent Arslan gave information about stem cell treatment.
The Benefit Ratio Varies Depending on the Selected Active Ingredient
The benefit to be obtained from intra-articular injections depends on the selected active ingredient. Varies depending on the item. Although the aim of hyaluronic acid injections, which are frequently used and applied, is to lubricate the cartilage surfaces and thus reduce pain and increase function, cartilage repair is not expected. Another option that acts similarly is synthetic (artificial) substances that increase surface slipperiness, which we call viscosupplementation.
Another injection option is PRP applications. In the PRP application, which is incorrectly promoted as stem cell treatment, the blood taken from the patient is subjected to a short process to obtain a serum with a healing ability greater than that of normal blood, and this serum is injected into the patient's knee. In this application, the aim is to increase the function by improving the cartilage tissue. However, this improvement in cartilage is limited.
Stem Cell: Cells with Renewal and Differentiation Features in Living Things
A promising treatment method that has started to be applied recently. It is also known as “stem cell therapy”. Stem cells are special cells that have the ability to renew and differentiate themselves in living things. Thanks to this feature, it can provide healing by differentiating into the tissue it is in. In humans, the tissues where stem cells are concentrated are bone marrow and fat (adipose) tissue.
In many studies conducted in recent years, stem cell injections performed in early or mid-term calcifications show a significant decrease in patients' pain and a significant decrease in joint functions. An increase was detected. The most obvious advantage of stem cell application is that since the patient's own cells are applied, there are no side effects that can be seen in drug applications.
How is Stem Cell Treatment Applied?
Stem Cell Treatment Cell application is performed under operating room conditions, completely sterile conditions, under local anesthesia or a sedating anesthesia we call sedation. The material obtained from the fat tissue in the patient's abdominal area is passed through a filter, the stem cells are separated and injected into the patient's problematic knee. After a short rest after the procedure, the patient is discharged on foot. After this procedure, patients can immediately return to their daily lives.
An important point to note here is that stem cell treatment is not the first option. It is an option for patients who have tried other non-surgical treatments but have not benefited. In addition, in stem cell treatment, the cartilage problem does not disappear completely, only some improvement is achieved. Stem cell therapy is not an alternative to prosthetic applications in today's conditions.
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