FED: Australia s first treatment knee cartilage injury treatment

AAP General News (Australia)
04-30-2001
FED: Australia s first treatment knee cartilage injury treatment

Doctors say a new treatment will give about 40,000 Australians with crippling knee
injuries a chance to return to long term fitness.

Every year about 4,000 Australians damage knee cartilage in road accidents, sporting
injuries and falls.

The head of orthopaedic research at Melbourne's St Vincent's and Mercy Private Hospital,
IAN HENDERSON, says people with knee injuries can suffer extreme pain for many years and
often require several operations.

But until now, there's been no permanent treatment available in Australia.

Dr HENDERSON says with the opening of the hospital's Mercy Tissue Engineering Centre,
patients can be treated with an 85 per cent chance of returning to normal fitness.

The new procedure involves taking cartilage cells from a patient's knee, growing the
cells in the centre's laboratory and then reimplanting them.

Dr HENDERSON says within six months patients are walking normally again and athletes
can return to competition within 12 months.

He says there's a 10-year backlog of patients suitable for the procedure.

AAP RTV rk/rp/hn/rsm

KEYWORD: KNEE (MELBOURNE)

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