Surgeons are warming to osteotomies, an older knee procedure that was abandoned due to its complex treatment process.
Yesterday, new techniques for the procedure published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery may convince more surgeons to perform more osteotomies, a procedure where the bone is cut to relieve pain in the hip and knee.
However, another advancement that was also announced yesterday holds the promise of completely wiping out knee and hip replacement surgeries.
Bristol University scientists in England created a living bandage from adult stem cells to heal common sports injuries, onenewsnow.com reports.
The scientists took stem cells from bone marrow and used it as a patch in the knee joint.
Dr David Stevens of the Christian Medical & Dental Association told the website the new treatment can heal "a tear that usually is unhealable in many patients" and that the new medical advancement could one day make knee and hip replacements obsolete.
A total of 234,625 total knee replacement procedures were done in 2005, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. The mean cost of the surgery was $35,000.
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