Athletes suffering career-upsetting injuries now have a new ray of hope in a first-of-its-kind medical centre that promises treatment through stem cells.
Venkatesh Movva, who heads the institution, insists that stem cells treatment was revolutionary and suitable for various orthopaedic conditions. The US-based sports medicine practitioner explains that the process involves extracting stem cells from the bone marrow from the back of the hip, a big reservoir of stem cells. “Then, we will harvest and isolate cells which are processed in the lab and re-inject those cells back into the cartilage, ligament, tendon, joint or wherever needed,” he pointed out.
The doctor, who also promotes American Football in India, explains efficacy of stem cell treatment through knee osteoarthritis. “Total knee replacement was the only option. With stem cells, we can now heal and regenerate the lost tissue like cartilage, meniscus and ligaments to reverse the arthritis and circumvent surgery,” he observed.
On what such treatment could cost, Dr. Venkatesh said for two joints, it costs as much as $ 7,000 in the US, but costs could be significantly low in India. “There are no legal issues involved in the treatment as we are using the patient’s own stem cells that are neither stored nor preserved,” he said, adding that treatment does not require hospitalisation.
