(Matt Garcia)
(Cells and fluid drawn from bone marrow)
(The purified product is then injected into the affected joint)
TAMPA (FOX 13) -
"I've always been involved in athletics," says Matt Garcia, who is 42 years old. We met up with him at his son's Pony Baseball field in Tampa.
Matt says the simplest exercises made coaching his son's team extremely painful. Matt says it came from years of wear and tear.
"Years of sports injuries, ten years in the army...a lot of pounding," Matt describes.
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Grant Garlick shows us Matt's MRI.
"This is showing Matthew's major problem," he says as he points to the loss of cartilage -- the shock absorber in his knees -- as well as a bone spur displacing his knee cap, and a meniscus tear.
Matt was told by other doctors he'd soon need a knee replacement, but that was an option he wasn't ready to explore.
"Patients in their 40s still want to be active, but with the arthritis they can't walk, they can't stand, and it's a major, major limiting factor in their life," Dr. Garlick says, explaining he sees many patients like Matt.
In his office at the Florida Orthopedic Institute, he now offers a special injection to help boost the cartilage, and help it heal.
"I put a needle into [the hip] area, very gently, and draw out the blood, and its contents," Dr. Garlick says as he draws cells and fluid from the bone marrow.
It's taken from a part of the hip bone known to be rich in mesenchymal stem cells. The patient is given pain medication, and then placed on their belly. Local anesthetic, similar to what a dentist uses, is injected into the back of the hip.
The bone is punctured using a large bore needle-like device, and the bone marrow is withdrawn into a syringe.
The contents of the syringe are filtered to remove any bone fragments, and then placed in a centrifuge, where it is spun down.
A purified product is then injected into the affected joint. That can range from a hip, knee, even a wrist.
"There are cartilage changes after the injection of stem cells," Dr. Garlick says.
The hope is that it will slow inflammation and help the cartilage heal. To increase that chance, patients then undergo three more injections of platelet rich plasma. Instead of using bone marrow, the growth factors are taken directly from blood, taken from a vein in the arm, much like getting a blood test in a lab.
Dr. Garlick says the results have been encouraging.
“When they can't have surgery and they come in for this procedure, and it gives them relief of pain by 70 percent, that's really encouraging," Garlick said.
Before getting his injections, Matt needed minor surgery to remove bone spurs and repair his meniscus. But he believes this new treatment is helping him focus on practice instead of the pain.
"I'd say (I'm) 40 to 50 percent better than before I had the treatment. There's no miracle cure for anything, but as far as getting back the quality of life, it was big for me, and I had gotten back a lot," Matt said.
Relieving the discomfort felt for decades.
For now, the procedure is not covered by insurance. It costs about $5,000 to $6,000. There are more clinical trials in progress to see its effect.
For more information:
http://www.floridaortho.com/news/using-stem-cell-therapy-treat-osteoarthritis
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00590-013-1393-9
http://www.aaos.org/news/aaosnow/jun14/cover2.asp
- By: Dr. Joette Giovinco, FOX 13 Medical Reporter
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