Coral insert treatment for chronic knee pain

oldbrownhat

oldbrownhat

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I don't have bad knees, but I just read about this in a WaPo article and thought it might be of interest. I'd "share" the article but since they now require you to sign in for "free" articles, I won't post a link. But here are some excerpts.
Many Americans...deal with chronic knee pain. The culprit nearly always is injured cartilage...
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One new solution (rather than replacement surgery) is to "re-grow" cartilage, but the operation is expensive ($40k) and sometimes doesn't take, which is what happened to one patient in the WaPo article, who opted for a new coral-based treatment.
It's called Agili-C, approved in 2022 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and developed by CartiHeal, an Israeli company. It is made from a calcium carbonate derived from the exoskeletons of coral that acts as a scaffold in the body to help regenerate bone and tissue...
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The coral plug... took a little more than an hour to put in and cost her $200 out of pocket (insurance covered the rest). Over time, the coral will be fully absorbed by her bone, and in its place will be a gooey substance composed of stem cells from her femur bone that acts similarly to natural cartilage. Full recovery is supposed to take two years, but [neo-natal nurse] McHatton says she’s already back to bike-riding, hiking and 12-hour shifts at the hospital...
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It's not the holy grail, but a promising option.
[Another is] the MISHA Knee System. It was cleared by the FDA last year and used on a 54 y.o. firefighter in CA, who has undergone 12 knee surgeries since 1987: seven on the right knee, and five on the left. Composed of metal and plastic, it looks like a shock absorber in a car and operates similarly, working to take pressure off the knee joint with each step.

It worked so well for him that he opted to have the same device installed on his left knee in April. And now he’s back in the forest.

It cost him about $1,300 out of pocket. Composed of metal and plastic, it looks like a shock absorber in a car and operates similarly, working to take pressure off the knee joint with each step. In December, he had it implanted on the inside of his right knee...
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The surgeon in both cases was Cassandra Lee, chief of the division of sports medicine at UC Davis Medical Center, so a search with her name may bring up other articles.
 

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Thank you for sharing.

THAT is good info to know.

My old knees are starting to get my attention.

I will not do knee implants or surgery unless a wheel chair is the other option.
 
I have had 2 surgeries on each knee and am mostly pain free. Losing a lot of weight helped more than anything. In the 20 plus years since the first surgery the options for repairs have improved a lot. Hopefully I will not require any more work.
 
My wife got to the point that pain from walking became unbearable, and all treatment options were exhausted. One month ago today, December 3rd, she had a full knee replacement. Today she is bee bopping around and feeling better than she has felt in a long time and is still improving. Doc has cleared her for anything she wants to do, so she's driving and will go back to work on Monday. She had reservations before the replacement but is now very happy she had it done. The miracles of modern medicine, they have come along way with knee replacements.
 
I just got injections in both knees Dec. 31st. They feel better, but not like usually when I get them. They are also ordering Uflexa (sp?) and will try that, series of 3 shots, one week apart. But my right knee is gonna need replaced. That will be my last try, then we order one or 2 new knees and get it over with. Dropping 25# since retirement has helped a lot.
 
soFlaNative said:
Interesting read. Thanks for passing it along.
MsNative is due for a knee job on the 22nd, her condition is bone on bone which rules out this procedure.
Orthopaedic surgeon among first to place new shock absorber implant for knee pain
Click to expand...
That's the second option mentioned in the article. Thanks for the link :) Some of this new technology is amazing.

BTW, if anyone wants the text of the WaPo article, I've saved it as a .docx file. Tried PDF but it came out a little weird.
 
dockmurgw said:
My wife got to the point that pain from walking became unbearable, and all treatment options were exhausted. One month ago today, December 3rd, she had a full knee replacement. Today she is bee bopping around and feeling better than she has felt in a long time and is still improving. Doc has cleared her for anything she wants to do, so she's driving and will go back to work on Monday. She had reservations before the replacement but is now very happy she had it done. The miracles of modern medicine, they have come along way with knee replacements.
Click to expand...
I'm glad everything worked out for your wife. Mine..not so lucky. Two years ago, she had a total knee replacement due to bone on bone in her right knee.
Two weeks after the surgery, it failed. Back to surgery and then two weeks in rehab. Once home she had to kick her addiction to the pain meds they gave her in rehab. Then she developed a bad infection in her knee. That called for another surgery for which they removed her capella. Then 6 weeks in another rehab facility. Now she has no knee cap. After months of in home therapy, she still can't stand for more than a few seconds and is mostly confined to a wheel chair. She is sad. I am sad. No more driving or shopping for her. I'm the cook and housekeeper now. We order groceries and buy everything on line. Going anywhere is a PITA getting into and out of the vehicle, loading, unloading the wheel chair.
Sorry for the rant, but it felt good to say it. Fortunately medicare and Tricare covered 99% of the medical and rehab costs, but I had to have a $10k wheel chair ramp built at my expense just to get her to doctor appointments and to visit relatives on the holidays.
 
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I had both knees replaced five years ago. Whatever issues and/or limitations I have now are minor compared to the pain and limitation I suffered prior to surgery. The knees will never be 18 again, but they don't feel like they are 100 either. The only recommendation I would offer is not to do both at the same time.
 
Bozz10mm said:
I'm glad everything worked out for your wife. Mine..not so lucky. Two years ago, she had a total knee replacement due to bone on bone in her right knee.
Two weeks after the surgery, it failed. Back to surgery and then two weeks in rehab. Once home she had to kick her addiction to the pain meds they gave her in rehab. Then she developed a bad infection in her knee. That called for another surgery for which they removed her capella. Then 6 weeks in another rehab facility. Now she has no knee cap. After months of in home therapy, she still can't stand for more than a few seconds and is mostly confined to a wheel chair. She is sad. I am sad. No more driving or shopping for her. I'm the cook and housekeeper now. We order groceries and buy everything on line. Going anywhere is a PITA getting into and out of the vehicle, loading, unloading the wheel chair.
Sorry for the rant, but it felt good to say it. Fortunately medicare and Tricare covered 99% of the medical and rehab costs, but I had to have a $10k wheel chair ramp built at my expense just to get her to doctor appointments and to visit relatives on the holidays.
Click to expand...

I sent you a PM with a recommendation for a top surgeon in Texas to consult with.
 
Bozz10mm said:
I'm glad everything worked out for your wife. Mine..not so lucky. Two years ago, she had a total knee replacement due to bone on bone in her right knee.
Two weeks after the surgery, it failed. Back to surgery and then two weeks in rehab. Once home she had to kick her addiction to the pain meds they gave her in rehab. Then she developed a bad infection in her knee. That called for another surgery for which they removed her capella. Then 6 weeks in another rehab facility. Now she has no knee cap. After months of in home therapy, she still can't stand for more than a few seconds and is mostly confined to a wheel chair. She is sad. I am sad. No more driving or shopping for her. I'm the cook and housekeeper now. We order groceries and buy everything on line. Going anywhere is a PITA getting into and out of the vehicle, loading, unloading the wheel chair.
Sorry for the rant, but it felt good to say it. Fortunately medicare and Tricare covered 99% of the medical and rehab costs, but I had to have a $10k wheel chair ramp built at my expense just to get her to doctor appointments and to visit relatives on the holidays.
Click to expand...

I truly hope you and your wife find a solution. I hope swsig's recommendation works out for you, and please...PLEASE don't give up.
 
My knee replacements have worked out well. Not always an easy ride though.

Had my first, a partial for my left knee, in 2018. It dislocated itself while I was sleeping six months later and it required another op (and rehab) to fix.

Had a full on my right in 2022 which has worked out well. Now I need to replace the partial in the left with a full as the other side of that knee has worn out. I hope to do that this year, and I hope that is the last knee op.

Replacing knees is no fun, but for those of us who have had success with them, man, they are great.
 
jeffrefrig said:
I just got injections in both knees Dec. 31st. They feel better, but not like usually when I get them. They are also ordering Uflexa (sp?) and will try that, series of 3 shots, one week apart. But my right knee is gonna need replaced. That will be my last try, then we order one or 2 new knees and get it over with. Dropping 25# since retirement has helped a lot.
Click to expand...

Jeff, I am starting my second round of Uflexa injections starting Jan 10th. I had the first round of 3 injections in June. My Dr says they will only do them every 6 mos.
The first shots I got in my knee were cortisone. My knees felt great that day and about 6 weeks out, then the pain started to creep in little by little. The second was cortisone again but that only lasted a couple weeks. The first 3 shots round of Uflexa really helped me for 3-4 months. I hope the upcoming doses do the same.
The Washington County gun show starts the next day and I want to be able to walk it a few times.
I have been taking Naproxin Sodium which is an 12 hr pain reliever which has also helped greatly. After replacing my Moms hot water tank last weekend I could hardly walk. The Naproxin enabled me to function.
Good luck!
 
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