Increased Knee Joint Width after Stem Cells

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SK is a 58 year old white male who had a hyper extension injury to his knee about 18 months before we evaluated him for a knee stem cell study.  He had continued significant pain in the knee with activities and his MRI showed medial compartment arthritis as well as injury to the medial meniscus.  He was unable to play tennis or back pack without taking anti-inflammatory medications.  At 18 months after the Regenexx-C stem cell procedure on his knee, he reports 100% improvement and a return to all activities.  The pictures above may explain why.  His meniscus looked better on the post-op films, but the most interesting part may be on the overall joint width in the inside of the knee.  The images above are sophisticated T2 maps performed on the same 3.0T MRI scanner.  The images slices on the left are matched to the images on the right.  A T2 map is a special picture with post image processing that helps to look more accurately at cartilage.  In this case, it makes it very easy to see where the cartilage stops and the bone begins (the post processing software can pick this up by looking at changes in MRI signal in cartilage versus bone as the T2 values are varied).  Here the width of the joint is measured in three places along the mid-portion of the inside of the knee joint (three measurements are then averaged to give the numbers in black above).  The most interesting thing is that the average joint width before treatment measured 22.4 pixels and after it measured 27.2 pixels.  This is an increase in joint width of about 20-25%.  The increased height is likely because of better meniscus height.  Interesting findings this Tuesday afternoon here in Colorado… As always, not every patient we treat with severe knee arthritis can expect to see changes like this in their MRI or results like this patient.

This patient was treated with the Regenexx-C (cultured stem cell injections)

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Chris Centeno, MD is a specialist in regenerative medicine and the new field of Interventional Orthopedics. Centeno pioneered orthopedic stem cell procedures in 2005 and is responsible for a large amount of the published research on stem cell use for orthopedic applications. View Profile

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NOTE: This blog post provides general information to help the reader better understand regenerative medicine, musculoskeletal health, and related subjects. All content provided in this blog, website, or any linked materials, including text, graphics, images, patient profiles, outcomes, and information, are not intended and should not be considered or used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please always consult with a professional and certified healthcare provider to discuss if a treatment is right for you.

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