For the first time in Poland, some of the newest methods of biological regeneration of articular cartilage will be presented live during the international conference, which starts on March 24 in Katowice.
We will show the course of two knee cartilage regeneration procedures, which will be performed at the same time in the operating theater of the Trauma Surgery Hospital in Piekary Śląskie – told PAP Prof. Jerzy Widuchowski, head of the Injury and Orthopedic Department of the Hospital.
The Silesian Hospital of Trauma Surgery is a leading trauma and orthopedic center in Poland and known abroad. He specializes, among others in treatments to restore damaged articular cartilage using the so-called biological methods (tissue engineering).
These types of techniques allow many young people to be protected against disability or the need to implant an artificial joint, i.e. an endoprosthesis, said Prof. Widuchowski, the main organizer of the conference.
Articular cartilage is a flexible tissue that prevents the bones from rubbing against each other. It also absorbs shocks that arise in the skeletal system while walking and running. After the end of the adolescent stage, however, it does not have the ability to regenerate. This causes severe pain and swelling and degeneration of the entire joint occurs over time.
We can prevent this from happening if we use one of the methods in the laboratory to cultivate a damaged piece of cartilage in the knee, hip or ankle joint – said Prof. Widuchowski.
A small piece of cartilage, the size of a rice grain, is removed from a healthy joint using a minimally invasive method, using arthroscopy. In the laboratory, chondrocytes, cells from which cartilage are mainly made, are obtained from it. Then they are multiplied on a nutrient medium and transferred to a suitable medium.
After 3 weeks, the grown tissue can be implanted in place of the joint damage – explains Prof. Wieduchowski.
Recently, cells taken from the bone marrow have been used for the regeneration of articular cartilage. This time, during one procedure (arthroscopy), the marrow is collected from the iliac plate and the so-called stem cells (from which all types of tissue can be made).
Then they are implanted in the place of the defect and left under the collagen membrane. After a few weeks, a new piece of articular cartilage is formed from them. After three months, you can start running.
The use of stem cells has the advantage that it does not require taking a tissue sample from a healthy joint, said Prof. Widuchowski. However, the choice of method depends on the extent of the damage. Growing chondrocytes in the laboratory enables the reconstruction of up to 10 cm square of cartilage.
Both methods do not yet allow the entire damaged pond to be restored. Therefore, for the time being, they can only be used in young people, who have greater possibilities of tissue regeneration. Unfortunately, we cannot yet help the elderly with degeneration of entire joints. For them, the only option is still an endoprosthesis – added prof. Widuchowski.
Biological methods of regeneration of articular cartilage outside the Hospital of Traumatic Surgery in Piekary Śląskie are used, among others, by at the Orthopedics Clinic of the Medical University of Warsaw and the Orthopedics and Traumatology Clinic of the University Teaching Hospital in Białystok. Private centers also offer them. You need to pay at least PLN 20 for a comprehensive treatment. zloty.
Zbigniew Wojtasiński (PAP)