Can Cartilage Be Replaced
Over my 17 years of hip and knee joint surgery, this been by far the number one patient question of me from my patients in their hope to avoid joint replacement.
The answer in the past was always, "No, unfortunately not," but now, with the advent of new, cutting edge surgical techniques and the ability to preserve cartilage, the answer now is YES in appropriate candidates.
Cartilage Replacement and Cartilage Restoration
Dr. Hopkins and the staff of Medical City Hip & Knee Specialists Frisco are proud to offer a comprehensive cartilage replacement program with procedures that preserve the natural hip and knee joint and avoid total joint replacement.
These procedures restore and resurface the joint cartilage to a normal state and, once healed, allows ability of patients to return to running and sports activities, which are not possible with partial or total joint replacement surgery. In the cartilage replacement procedures, damaged joint cartilage in hips and knees with arthritis or avascular necrosis (AVN) is removed and replaced with viable, fresh allograft (donor) cartilage.
These cartilage replacement techniques, rather than replacing the joint with metal and plastic, replaces the damaged cartilage with viable, fresh cartilage with 80% cartilage cell viability, which is living cartilage. Cartilage replacement allows the potential to avoid artificial metal-plastic joint replacement procedures and are a 21st century solution for hip and knee arthritis and AVN sufferers.
Am I a Candidate for Cartilage Replacement
If you have been told that you need a hip or knee replacement or are scheduled for hip or knee replacement surgery, please schedule an appointment with Dr. Hopkins and his team to see if you may be a candidate for cartilage replacement and avoid artificial joint replacement surgery.