Osteonecrosis (AVN) of the Hip Treatment Case Study

(Please note, this patient was treated with the Regenexx cultured stem cell procedure and not Regenexx-SD.  While Regenexx-SD does rely on the same stem cell type that was used to treat these patients and other clinics have reported good results using similar procedures that don’t rely on stem cell culturing, Regenexx-SD clinical effectiveness has not yet been established.)

A 41-year-old male with three years of non-traumatic right greater than left hip pain.  MRIs of both hips showed advanced AVN.  He had pain despite treatments that included traditional and herbal medications, physical therapy and prolonged crutch use.  Hip replacements were recommended.

Treatment and Outcome

Autologous mesenchymal stem cells were injected into his right hip after core decompression.  Six weeks later, his pain had decreased, and he was more active.  MRI images of his right hip show that the cysts from the AVN have begun to fill in with bone.
A very interesting finding was that the MRI of his UNTREATED left hip also showed healing.  This is likely because some of the injected stem cells got into his bloodstream and migrated to the area of injury in the left hip.