Orthopedic Care of the Mature Athlete
While I had several other subjects in the world of Regenerative Medicine that I wanted to feature in my Blog this week, the impact of the Governmental decision is a milestone in the evolution of Regenerative Medicine development. It’s a start; there is still a long way to go before we will have the evidence that stem cells and platelet rich plasma may successfully postpone or eliminate the need for a joint replacement in an arthritic patient but there is sufficient anecdote to support the ongoing initiatives. Last week, I traveled to Colorado to participate in the first Regenexx network of physicians meeting and, had the opportunity to review collective outcomes. Data was presented pertaining to the 18 month registry of the same day (SD) bone marrow concentrate adult mesenchymal autogous stem cell treatment program for an osteoarthritic knee. The results were compatible with a high percentage of patient satisfaction and continued improvement at 18 months. Some patients took longer than others to reach their goals; but the vast majority was satisfied with results. There was little difference in reported outcomes between fair and good candidacy scores. As one would anticipate, poor candidates had the worse outcomes. 91% of 184 patients reported significant improvement with the same day bone marrow concentrate treatment of an arthritic knee at 18months. Please bare in mind that no payer at this time will reimburse for stem cell use in arthritis or use of platelet rich plasma for an arthritic joint, that is still a long way off. Yet the success stories reported by patients should cause the individual limited by a painful joint to seriously consider the cost/benefit ratio of regenerative medicine before undergoing a joint replacement. The economics of regenerative medicine alternatives are no greater and probably less than the cost of dental reconstruction; certainly not significantly greater than a high deductible insurance policy.
To learn more, make an appointment:
The stem cell orthopedist
Mitchell B. Sheinkop, M.D.
1565 N. LaSalle Street . Chicago . Illinois . 60610
312-475-1893 x15