In a new study from doctors in Italy, researchers at the University of Bologna discussed the current options patients have for sparing their ankle from replacement surgery.
These options include:
- Arthroscopic debridement, a surgical procedure that uses a “power wash” to spray off damaged cartilage, bone and other tissue.
- Arthrodiastasis, rods are inserted into the ankle bones and suspended from a external cage, this is a picture from Podiatry Today. The idea is to provide more bone space to allow cartilage to grow and heal.
- Ankle osteotomy. a surgery that shaves or remodels the bone.
As the Italian researchers point out: “(these) are the current joint sparing procedures, but, in the available studies, controversial results were achieved.”
In studying stem cell injections they were able to note: After interesting reports of mesenchymal stem cells seeded on scaffold (a biological patch) and applied to cartilage defects in non-degenerated joints, bone marrow derived cells transplantation appears to be a promising technique in order to control the degenerative pathway and restore the osteochondral (bone and cartilage) defects.1
Here is a stem cell testimonial from a patient who not only had chronic pain but was also in a wheelchair when she came to our office because she was recommended to have an ankle replacement.
Three weeks after the stem cell procedure she used a walker and 9 weeks post procedure was walking normally without any pain nor assistance.
1 Castagnini F, Pellegrini C, Perazzo L, Vannini F, Buda R. Joint sparing treatments in early ankle osteoarthritis: current procedures and future perspectives. Journal of Experimental Orthopaedics. 2016;3:3. doi:10.1186/s40634-016-0038-4.