Dr Gordan Gavrilović – uses cutting edge stem cell therapy instead of invasive operative procedures in knee and hip replacement
When articular cartilage of the knee is damaged, it can be “fixed”only with film that is made from so called MSC (stem cells)
This cutting edge minimaly invasive surgical procedure for damaged joint cartilage with stem cells is in use for six years, and in our country for last three years.
So far, cartilage repair work has been carried out, but with the material taken from the other part of the body, or from the cartilage from the other joint, which made the defect in another place of the body. A new, complex procedure consists of the installation of a special implant on the site of cartilage damage, made of natural hydroxyl-apatite-based material.
So far, the cartilage repair has been performed, but with the help of material taken from the some other part of the body, that is- from the cartilage from the other joint, causing a defect elsewhere. The new more complex procedure consists of placing a special implant at the site of cartilage damage, made of natural material based on hydroxyapatite.
According to Dr. Gavrilovic, an orthopedic surgeon and traumatologist at Atlas General Hospital, when treated, the defect site is filled with blood and platelets that have the ability to grow:
– They attract or provoke so-called mesenchymal stem cells from the environment, turn them into chondroblasts and then into chondrocytes, which then cover the site of damage and coalesce with the existing cartilage. The material is resorbed in about six months, and the entire cartilage restoration process takes about a year, and it can then be said that the patient has new cartilage. The complete procedure is performed at our Atlas Hospital, in the operating theatre.
– Surgery is only feasible for vascular hip necrosis, and in younger patients who have not experienced internal cartilage damage. When the hip is filled with this material, it can save the patient from the complicated installation of an artificial hip – explains Dr. Gavrilovic.
A knee-to-knee MSCs (transplant) stem cells surgery is the best choice for cartilage injuries in younger patients, most commonly athletes who often have injuries of the joint. In order to perform surgery, it is necessary for the patient to be examined immediately after the injury in order to have a magnetic resonance imaging performed as soon as possible and to evaluate where and how to act.
– Any waiting and long-term lasting injury leads to damage to the surrounding structures, especially the inner side of the cartilage, which makes it contraindicated for this procedure.
– After the intervention, after five weeks of walking on crutches, patients return to daily life activities, even to sports – says Dr. Gavrilovic.
