Carticel Implant by Genzyme
about
My name is Ronda. I was involved in a very serious automobile accident back in 2002, in which both of my legs were broken very badly. There were other injuries, as well. My right knee became very painful about 6 months after the accident and it was discovered that I had a huge chunk of articular cartilage knocked out of the end of my femur. Since this cartilage doesn't "grow back", I was given the option to try this new procedure by Genzyme called a Carticel Implant. This was such a new procedure, in fact, that there were only 2 doctors in the Austin area who knew how to do it. I tried everything else first...injections (steroids, Synvisc), wearing a brace, lots of physical therapy, etc. and nothing eased my pain. I finally gave in to the Carticel procedure. It's a fairly long, tedious recovery, but I am SO happy that I went thru with it. Within approx. 4 months of the surgery, I had no knee pain (ZERO)! I wished I had done it much sooner. It's now been 4 years since the surgery, and I am still extremely happy. I honestly have not had one knee pain since I fully recovered from the procedure. For anyone who might be considering this procedure, I would highly recommend it. One of the best things about it is that you are getting something implanted that came from you to begin with, so there's no risk of rejection. Back when I had mine done, there was a pretty strict criteria you had to meet to be considered for the surgery, but I'm willing to bet that it's more generalized now. Please look into it in lieu of a knee replacement! You'll be doing yourself a favor.
