Cost May Be One Reason to Look for A Knee Replacement Alternative

How much does a knee replacement cost? I don’t usually quote financial sites on this blog, but one just did such a great job of putting the outrageous costs of knee or hip replacement in perspective, I couldn’t resist. At more than 50K, cost many be one reason to look for a knee replacement alternative. The…read more

If Your Knee Replacement Really Hurts, Can You Blame Your Parents?

We’re just starting to understand how different we all are. In the 1960s and even when I graduated medical school in the 80s, physicians believed that all of their patients were the same. In fact, much of our current regulatory SNAFUs regarding cell therapies are based on this premise. Turns out, we physicians were wrong,…read more

Knee Replacement Recovery: New Study Shows that Many Patients are in Severe Pain

Knee replacement surgery recovery is a big deal. After all, the surgery involves the amputation of the knee joint and then the insertion of a prosthesis. As a result, knee replacement has been associated with side effects like a massive increase in heart attack risk right after the surgery. In addition, I’ve heard stories from…read more

Knee Replacement Cost: Prices Soar as the Outcomes Drop and the Complications Mount

What does a knee replacement cost? There was a great New York Times article on Sunday that reported that patients without insurance (and some with insurance), as being priced out of knee or hip replacement surgeries. One of the issues brought up is that the cost of a knee or hip device is controlled by…read more

Partial Knee Replacement Recovery for People Under 60

Faster partial knee replacement recovery is often touted as the rationale for why someone would want to replace only half their knee versus a total knee replacement. However, the research of the last few years hasn’t been kind to other minimally invasive knee replacement options like hip resurfacing. Will partial knee replacement problems also surface?…read more

Knee Replacement Allergy: Allergic to the Cement after 4 Surgeries on the Same Knee

Can you have a knee replacement allergy? Awhile back I blogged on knee placement and the studies showing that a good number of patients are allergic to various components of the prosthesis. A few weeks ago there was the “bald and itchy” patient who had lost her hair due to a metal allergy from a…read more

Regenexx-SD Stem Cell Knee and Hip Replacement Alternative Data vs Surgery

How does the Regenexx-SD Stem Cell Knee and Hip Replacement Alternative stack up to knee and hip replacement surgery?  As you may recall, I blogged a while back on the new data collected by orthopedic surgeon and Chicago Regenexx network provider, Mitch Sheinkop, M.D. He compared his knee and hip replacement patients from 2007 with…read more

A Tale of Two Siblings and A Knee Replacement Alternative at One Year Out

There are many younger patients these days that find themselves needing a knee replacement, This morning I’d like to write about a brother and a sister who both found themselves in that precarious situation. The 57 year old brother is a patient of ours because a knee replacement wasn’t a good solution for his active…read more