THIS POST IS PART OF THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO ORTHOBIOLOGICS
It is well documented that with each passing year, the number of patients with knee osteoarthritis steadily increases. Most patients suffering from the symptoms of knee arthritis have tried a variety of anti-inflammatory medications, nutritional supplements, braces, physical therapy and weight loss with varying degrees of success.
Those who fail these standard treatments often try corticosteroid injections and/or viscosupplement injections; however, many patients experience no lasting improvements after these injections.
What are the treatment options for knee osteoarthritis?
At that point, an orthopedic physician may recommend surgery. Unfortunately, arthroscopic “clean-up,” when critically studied, has been shown not to be of benefit and may in some cases make arthritis symptoms worse.
Furthermore, patients without “bone on bone” changes may be told they are not quite ready for a knee replacement. These patients remain in pain and feel they are “trapped” without any options.
Lipogems®
Dr. Jack Farr, OrthoIndy cartilage restoration and knee specialist, is using a new product called Lipogems®, an alternative to surgical intervention. The Lipogems process washes, rinses and resizes your body’s own adipose (fat) tissue to aid in ease of application. Only a small amount of your fat needs to be removed from your body, so the instruments (lipoaspiration) used are on a much smaller scale than traditional surgical liposuction.
In the case of the knee, your body’s own adipose (fat) tissue is used to supplement the native knee fat. The knee has a fat pad, often called “Hoffa’s fat pad,” which has been show to contain adult stem cells. These stem cells have been shown to help to balance (modulate) pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory molecules as well as potentially aiding in the delicate balance between the natural break down and repair process.
“After reviewing the available literature and speaking with colleagues in Europe, who have been using Lipogems for some time, I am encouraged that Lipogems will be a useful tool in our treatment of knee arthritis,” said Dr. Farr.
After trying the Lipogems procedure on a patient, Dr. Farr added, “the Lipogems stem cell therapy injection for knee arthritis was performed at OrthoIndy. The procedure went well.”
Lipogems may be a good option to consider if your knee arthritis is making it difficult to function during normal daily activities, perform physical exercise and if you have failed to have acceptable relief from other treatment options such as physical therapy, oral medications and steroid injections, etc.
For additional information on Lipogems or to schedule an appointment with Dr. Farr, please call 317.884.5163. Learn more about cartilage restoration at OrthoIndy.
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