Posted on 08/03/2017 5:41:33 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Ashton Brum is a runner, dancer and member of the school marching band, but she is sidelined by an active lifestyle and bad genetics.
"A lot of pressure. Walking was, it hurt, but it wasn't painful. It was uncomfortable to walk and uncomfortable to start running,” Ashton Brum said.
At 16, she was ready for that uncomfortable pressure to go away for good.
"When I bent down, it sounded like a plastic bag inside my knee was crackly," Brum said. "And it was popping all the time."
She turned to Dr. Zak Knutson at Oklahoma Sports and Orthopedics Institute.
He told her she was a candidate for a new cutting edge procedure launched in the United States earlier this year.
It's called MACI, which is a procedure that repairs damaged cartilage using a person’s own cartilage cells.
"You stimulate the cells in the right environment and they make cartilage around themselves. It's kind of like they make a cushion around themselves,” Dr. Zak Knutson said.
Doctors say cartilage is harvested from the patient and sent to a lab in Massachusetts. It's then soaked into a patch and applied to the damaged area.
"The cells start to stick 24 hours to the bone. Once they stick, then we're good because then we start motion and a little bit of weight-bearing to stimulate them to grow and make cartilage around them,” Dr. Knutson said.
After performing the procedure about a dozen times, Dr. Knutson says he has seen success.
"We're trying to prevent knee replacement. They know they have cartilage injuries. They've been told it's arthritis, but she doesn't have arthritis. She has a cartilage defect in her knee. It's potentially for anybody with some sort of cartilage injury, even potentially arthritis,” Dr. Knutson said.
"Usually my pain is at a five or above before surgery, and now it's at two and below. It's extremely weird and crazy to feel it not in pain,” Brum said.
It will take several more months for a full recovery, but this teen is ready for a new lease on life.
Not really new. I read about this 10 years ago.
I’ve had two knee surgeries on the same knee—45 years apart. The last was knee-replacement. I recommend not waiting until you can’t walk any more. A recovery that should have taken weeks took 1½ years. Now I don’t think about every morning when I get up.
That no normal person can afford and only people on the dole can get.
I have no meniscus, right or left. Pretty severe deterioration of both knee joints. Plus osteoporosis. Wonder if re-cartilegization would work for me.
For any interested, you may want to consider pulsed emf therspy, to stimulate your bodys natural healing ability, yo ucan use pemf on your knees or anywhere you have an issue.
Earthpulse units are good and sota pulsers are too. Both available multiple places online.
I know the feeling, I walked around for nearly 18 years with a bad knee and got both replaced in one year. 2006. Best move I ever made. I walk around like I never had a problem.
If not as a recipient of both replaced knees, go for it. You’re up and walking within a couple of hours of surgery.
Hubby has 2 partial knees, and retains 95% function, where as his sister had 2 full knees, has all types of knee use issues.
Just don’t wait to long, the partial Dr Schrader does is better than any other Orthos in the area. His full knee looks like a double partial. Most of the other Orthos don’t like his success.
People come from the 3 surrounding states, PT for the partial which is NOT the 1 used by most Orthos you walk as soon as they get you to room, no crutches, walkers, 1 hr procedure, pain pump for 2 days. Dr Schrader is also heavy into stem cell research.Rehab is mostly walking. Hubby was driving 2 days after the self remove pain pump came out, climbed stairs 2 weeks later to the attic. He and staff are Christians. http://www.midsouthorthopedics.com/
Can you expand on this statement?
Just a few days ago a few of us were speculating how inadequately some biological processes can be measured, among the senses, pain...
That has been the scam of the recent decades, as a pretext to legitimize the legal use of marijuana, as an analgesic...Is there now actually an official, objective, consistent pain scale?
Got that right, we just lucked out, as Dr. Schrader was a second opinion from the Primary, while my SIL had good surgeon, her full knees leave a lot to be desired as to function.
I had base of thumb surgery, blew the ligaments, have 2 screws to hold the joint, and trigger lock of the thumb. It left my whole hand in level 10 pain. And no refills on pain med, not that I’d take it, have to many Gastro issues it would irritate. And all they offer is ice packs and Tylenol. After PT. This keeps up, they will have to change the PT for the entire hand. Since I’m 95% right handed it’s been a difficult process to use the left hand that was not used much, the thumb there is in about half the same condition. OA major cause. Plus women don’t have the same hand strength a man has or bone structure.
Be prepared for a severe case of arthritis in that thumb and hand....
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