Need a new knee? Now you can 'grow your own' after a one-hour op on the NHS

Thousands of NHS patients tormented by agonising knee symptom are group to beryllium offered ‘grow-your-own’ associated replacements.

The long-lasting process to repair harm to cartilage successful nan knee has been approved by nan NHS spending watchdog aft 20 years of research.

The method – known arsenic single-step scaffold insertion – involves extracting stem cells from nan patient’s problematic associated and increasing them wrong animal tissue.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) concluded that galore patients surviving pinch debilitating knee injuries saw their mobility ‘improved significantly’ aft nan surgery.

About 10,000 Britons request curen for torn cartilage injuries each twelvemonth – usually successful nan knee. This is wherever nan tough-but-flexible ‘cushion’ that stops bones rubbing together successful nan associated ruptures, often owed to dense impacts during sporting activities, aliases simply twisting nan knee excessively overmuch while nan ft is planted.

Once cartilage has been damaged, it does not heal connected its own.

It leads to pain, swelling and predominant seizing-up of nan joint. Many sufferers find nan injured knee besides gives measurement easily, expanding nan consequence of vulnerable falls.

Young adults who rupture knee cartilage are besides acold much apt to create agonising osteoarthritis – wherever nan cartilage wears retired truthful excessively that knee bones grind together successful later life. Some extremity up requiring knee-replacement room successful their 40s aliases 50s.

This is simply a awesome cognition which involves cutting unfastened nan knee and replacing nan associated pinch a metallic aliases integrative implant. Knee replacements return astir a twelvemonth to retrieve from and sometimes nan implant tin go infected aliases deterioration down, starring to its removal. About a 5th of patients will require a 2nd associated replacement.

About 2 decades agone researchers developed an innovative solution to fixing cartilage tears successful nan knee earlier they caused irreversible damage. The procedure, called autologous chondrocyte implantation, involves regrowing nan cartilage successful a laboratory.

Bone marrow – nan soft, spongy worldly wrong bones – is extracted from nan hep of patients utilizing a agelong needle. Stem cells, which person nan capacity to turn into patient caller cartilage, are subsequently harvested from nan bony marrow and cultivated successful a dish. Several weeks later, nan diligent has a 2nd process to implant nan cells into nan knee, wherever they proceed to turn and go afloat functioning cartilage.

While effective, autologous chondrocyte implantation is very costly – cultivating stem cells successful a laboratory tin costs arsenic overmuch arsenic £17,000 alone. It besides requires 2 invasive operations.

But nan new, single-step scaffold insertion process offers akin results pinch conscionable 1 operation. During nan hour-long surgery, surgeons drill mini holes into nan knee bony while nan diligent is nether a wide anaesthetic. This allows nan stem cells to leak retired of nan bony marrow.

A mini spot of cattle aliases pig insubstantial is past placed complete nan torn cartilage to enactment arsenic a benignant of scaffold for nan stem cells to populate. Over nan pursuing six to 12 months nan stem cells turn into caller cartilage, strengthening nan knee, easing symptom and restoring movement.

The method costs a fraction of autologous chondrocyte implantation – nan animal insubstantial scaffolds costs conscionable £1,000 to £2,000 and location is nary culturing of cells successful a lab.

‘This is perchance very bully news,’ said Ian McDermott, a advisor knee surgeon astatine London Sports Orthopaedics who has carried retired nan one-step process connected hundreds of backstage patients. ‘It has an 80 per cent occurrence complaint aft 5 years and is simply a fraction of nan costs of existent techniques.’

Experts reason nan process will not cure each patients, though. Studies propose it is astir effective connected mini cartilage tears. Patients who acquisition nan op whitethorn still request a knee replacement later successful life, too.

However, those who person already received stem compartment therapy for torn cartilage opportunity it has changed their lives.

Rebecca Bennett, from Somerset, was 1 of nan first group successful nan UK to use from autologous chondrocyte implantation astir 20 years ago.

The 43-year-old was successful her precocious teens erstwhile a freak gaffe caused her knee to crook backwards, starring to years of agony. ‘It was nan worst symptom I’ve ever felt,’ Rebecca says. ‘And I’ve had 4 children.’

She had damaged nan cartilage successful her knee. Numerous operations followed, nary of which fixed nan problem. ‘My knee kept abruptly dislocating. The full associated felt for illustration a floating spot of jelly.’

Doctors warned she could extremity up successful a wheelchair – but successful 2005 she was offered nan chance to subordinate a proceedings astatine Orpington Hospital successful London, wherever surgeons were testing retired nan caller technique.

‘As soon arsenic I woke up I knew it had worked – moreover earlier I sewage retired of bed,’ adds Rebecca. ‘It felt wholly different. Twenty years later my knee is still arsenic bully arsenic ever. It gave maine backmost my freedom.’