BioDuct Meniscal Fixation Device: New Knee Injury Device that Could Change the World

Who ever though that your knees could give you so much pain and grief? As a fellow victim of patellofemoral instability and chronic knee pain, when any new information arises regarding the knee, I find myself jumping in and finding the facts; and this caught my attention.

Recently the FDA had agreed on a new knee surgery device that will help repair meniscus tears. Meniscus is the two pads of cartilage that is used to diffuse resistance in the knee joint concerning the lower leg and the thigh. Normally the meniscus is either torn or just wears away because of constant use, injury, or just the fact that we are getting older.

Surgeons have been forced to remove the meniscus' injured portions completely. This type of action leads to arthritis in the knee that can become devastatingly severe. Because we need the meniscus as our type of shock absorber, to say the least, for our knee and our knee movement, eliminating the meniscus is no longer a proper termination for treatment. Physical therapy is also in some situations a lost cause because two thirds of the meniscuses require a blood supply therefore if the meniscus is torn in that specific area, the meniscus will not patch itself up.

And this portion of the meniscus is where doctors have been researching alternative ways of treatment for. The new device approved by the FDA will transfer blood and cells from the veins of the knee to the portions that lack a blood supply. This will supply the meniscus with the blood and cells needed for healing and give the knee a chance to be saved from meniscus tears that were formerly inoperable.

This new development is called the BioDuct Meniscal Fixation Device and has been under investigation at the University of Missouri. Testing so far has confirmed that the BioDuct Meniscal Fixation Device had totally or moderately repaired the tear after a few weeks. With this type of invention out there being tested, many knee injury suffers such as myself, will not have to worry about developing arthritis. We may even be able to rule out the possibility of needing an overall joint replacement.

There is a lot more research that needs to be done on this inventions, seeing as how all of the patients so far have been dogs with meniscus tearing, however, there is not much of an anatomical difference in how a dogs knees bends and a humans.

If you're not sure of this new device, take a look at your options. You could try physical therapy. The physical therapy would include stretching, strengthening, ice and heat, as well as ultrasound. This will have to be done two to three times a week as well as specific home therapies that your physical therapist will give you to do. After twelve weeks of therapy there could be no change what-so-ever, so you're back to square one. I personally had all of the above therapy, nothing worked, and if you don't have health coverage, four visits will cost you $2000. I was pretty shocked to find that bill in the mail.

The surgery we already discussed is route that has to be taken with caution. So far, I have been lucky enough to no have to get anything removed, but if I would, or one of you fellow knee pain suffers would have to go through, think about it. You might feel great after the surgery, however, what about ten or twenty or even thirty years from now? You could be wheelchair bound due to arthritis. I'm never getting rid of my knee's shock absorbers!

There are also many doctors out there that want to treat the pain and inflammation because they know or feel that there are no other avenues to pursue. Anti-inflammatory medications and or Cortisone injections just lesson the pain or take away the inflammation; it doesn't resolve the issue that could get worse if you wait any longer.

In conclusion, if you look at all of the options, this new device is the best idea I have heard in a long time. It's time that we think ahead with our aches and pains and just not give it a quick fix for the time being.