Chennai, Feb 21: A 69-year-old American woman diagnosed with Grade 3 Osteoarthritis took an international trip right after four weeks from the surgery.
Sarrah Hassler, music teacher in an international school in Chennai was suffering from Grade 3 Osteoarthritis that made her daily routines miserable. She had to stop teaching and had to fall in the bed completely.
She visited Apollo Hospitals, OMR with a growing knee pain. Apollo Hospitals senior consultant orthopedic surgeon, Dr Madhan Thiruvengada diagnosed her with Grade 3 Osteoarthritis defect.
Osteoarthritis of the knee is the most common problem worldwide leading to disability and Sarah Hassler underwent the new ‘One-step minced cartilage procedure’ which preserves the patient’s natural joint for many years.
Speaking to mediapersons here Thursday, Apollo Hospitals chief (operations), Dr Rahul Menon said, ”This is the first time in India that One-step minced cartilage procedure is happening and it was done by Dr Madhan Thiruvengada and his team.”
Talking about the treatment, Dr Madhan, who is an expert in arthroscopic sport injury procedures said that this is the first time to diagnose a patient with one step process rather than going for a two step process involving autologous chondrocyte implantation.
He further said, ”Almost 19 per cent of the population above the age of 40 and about 50 per cent of the population above 75 per cent around the world suffer from this. The One-step minced cartilage procedure transplants a portion of a healthy cartilage particulated from the same knee of the patient through a keyhole incision along with a bioactive material to the damaged portion of the cartilage, thereby reducing recovery time. The entire procedure is autologous, there is no usage of chemical agents during the procedure, making it a completely safe procedure for the patient”.
Sarah Hassler recovered and was discharged within a day. She is active and within 3-4 weeks following the procedure she had been on an international vacation without any hassle.