Surgical knee magic
Wednesday, 18 September 2024
I just read (okay: skimmed) a WaPo article by Andrew Zaleski that describes a new operation for people with knee cartilage problems. Surgeons put a pellet of calcium carbonate derived from coral exoskeletons (yeah, the reef kind) in the bone. Over time, the pellet is absorbed and the body makes a gooey substance that acts rather like real cartilage. It’s a fast operation, albeit with a different recovery curve than knee replacement. Zaleski describes two other new approaches with good results.
I’ll try to remember this. Right now my knees are okay (knock on wood), but they have had issues, and I baby them frequently.
Date: 17 Sept 2024. Title (that I saw online): Not ready for a knee replacement? You might be able to fix your cartilage instead.