Pune— Ugandan National Football team Player, Joseph Owino, was ruled out for the rest of the season due to cartilage defect in his knee. Instead of accepting a life without football, Joseph Owino grabbed the opportunity to undergo Autologous Cartilage Implantation Procedure in India from Dr. Sachin Tapasvi, Consultant in Arthritis, Sports Medicine, Arthroscopy and Joint Replacement, Oyster and Pearl Hospital, Pune.
For this treatment, doctor extracted cartilage tissue from his knee, which was performed on 5th April 2011, put it through a process in the RMS’ Regrow - Cell Processing Centre which concentrates the cartilage cell and then re-inserted them into his knee after 4 weeks. These cells then work on healing and regenerating the damage caused by the sports injury, facilitating recovery that otherwise may not have been possible.
“Autologous cultured cell technology has created a new dimension in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, which will diminish the burden of risks associated with auto and allografts”. The repair of knee articular cartilage lesions by autologous Chondrocyte implantation in high-performance athletes is particularly successful in younger generation says Dr. Sachin Tapsvi .
A torn cartilage commonly happens to men and women in their twenties or thirties and is often a result of twisting the leg when jogging, playing football, playing rugby, horse riding or skiing. This injury is difficult to repair and though there have been efforts to sew the torn cartilage together this is often unsuccessful. More often, professional athletes choose to have their cartilage removed to help them recover. However, this option exposes the bones in the knees putting patients at risk of developing osteoarthritis.
The cartilage works as a shock absorbent. The knee cartilage cushions the bones in the upper and lower leg and allows the bones to glide against each other without producing damage. A tear in the knee cartilage is often accompanied by pain and swelling.
“The autologous cell therapy can do remarkable things,” said Dr. Satyen Sanghavi, Chief Scientific Officer, and RMS -Regrow. “We are very pleased with the outcome of this therapy to treat orthopedic injuries, particularly in a case like Jospeh Owino’s where his livelihood is at stake.” This procedure is a good option because it allows young people to get back to sports quickly and they can resume normal activity within a short span of time.
The first step of an ACI surgery is to perform an arthroscopic procedure where the cartilage defect is evaluated. And a small piece of normal cartilage is harvested from less essential areas of the knee, taking around 10mins. This cartilage is then sent to a RMS Regrow -Cell Processing Centre, cartilage expansion laboratory where the cells are cultured and multiplied. Once enough cells have been grown, the second stage of the operation is scheduled.
The second stage of ACI surgery involves implantation of the cultured cartilage cells. This is a minimally invasive technique. Being a centre back football player and as asset to the Ugandan Team, Owino suffered knee injury last year and will be now back to action after the ACI procedure. Today, Owino is doing fine and all set to go back to active football in a matter of few weeks.