01-07-2025
Less invasive knee procedure uses patient's own cells to repair cartilage damage
Teenagers and young adults are increasingly suffering knee injuries, often causing damage to the cartilage. But there's a less invasive procedure called MACI Arthro that's now being used to repair that damage with the patient's own cells.
Zachary Kesbia was 17 when he tore his ACL playing lacrosse. He had surgery and rehab, but two years later, he felt sudden pain in the same knee while running.
"It kind of felt similar to like what happened with the ACL, just not as painful," he said.
When teenagers and young adults injure their knee, like an ACL tear or a dislocated kneecap, they can develop cartilage problems down the road. Dr. Joseph Czarnecki, an orthopedic surgeon at Winchester Hospital, says the cartilage becomes rough, or a piece can get knocked off.
"Almost like having a pothole in the road," he said. "So when you're on that road, or you're going over the rough surface, and it causes pain, it causes inflammation - inflammation can lead to swelling."
MACI Arthro knee procedure
A cutting-edge procedure called MACI Arthro, approved by the Food & Drug Administration in 2024, has made repairing the damage much easier.
Surgeons harvest healthy cartilage cells from a patient, send them to a lab where they're grown on a cartilage membrane. The membrane is then cut to size in the operating room and glued into the cartilage defects, using small instruments through small incisions.
"What I've seen in our patients is that there's less pain, there's less swelling, and they hit their therapy milestones quicker," Dr. Czarnecki said.
Less pain for patients
Several dozen MACI Arthro procedures have been performed in the U.S. so far. Dr. Czarnecki has done among the most, including Kesbia's last November.
"I didn't really experience any pain, like ever," Kesbia said. "I was very happy with the result."
"We want them to get back to playing with their children, doing their sports, playing on their college athletic teams," Dr. Czarnecki said.
Kesbia was so inspired, he's training to become a physical therapist.
"Without him, I wouldn't have got into my PT field that I love so much, and he's helped me," Kesbia said. "I can't thank him enough."
The MACI Arthro procedure is best suited to people ages 18 to 55 who don't already have underlying arthritis.
