Call USB and make sure the lab is OK with the date before committing to the patient or hospital. The laboratory can only grow a limited number of cells at a time. Take into consideration cell growth time. Some patients take 2 weeks, some take 4 weeks. You may need to check with USB. Make sure USB faxes you an order sheet to start cell growth, and make sure you fax it back. Otherwise, cell growth will not start. KeepRead more
Begin education as early as possible. Give brochures, websites, CD’s at the first visit after biopsy. Let them review at home, then do Q and A when they come for the next office. Make sure they know how surgery will affect them – (scar, length of tem, weight bearing status, time off work, time not driving) so that they can make arrangements with their families and employers. Make sure they know that they cannot reschedule once cell expansion has started.Read more
The technique is not as much challenging as it is detail oriented. There are several “pearls” that help speed the procedure along. When taking the biopsy, several Tylenol sized pieces of cartilage are placed into the transfer medium. If you do not have a biopsy kit and therefore no transfer medium, place the cartilage in normal saline and refrigerate until the kit becomes available. Enter the knee thru an anterior approach; be sure to have adequate exposure. Do all osteotomyRead more
The concept of preserving the joint is a multi-faceted thought. It is not just addressing the articular cartilage though that is a large part of it. It is evaluating causative factors and addressing predisposing issues and where they can be addresses aggressively approaching and treating those factors. The question then becomes, if we can protect the joint, can we influence or decrease the relative chance of future arthritic changes? Then, the next step is how to repair or restore theRead more