Procedure is much more cost effective.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Despite the controversy that has persistently dogged the progress of stem cell research in the United States, Indian American physician Dr. Ajeya Joshi, and two other doctors in San Antonio, Texas, are working to bring stem cell therapy to the field of orthopedic injuries in the hope of rebuilding tendons and joints without the need for surgery.
The procedures are being completed at the Stem Cell Orthopedic Institute of Texas, which Joshi and his colleagues — Dr. David Hirsch and Dr. John Hall — describe as being much more cost effective in comparison to having it done at a hospital or surgical center, according to multiple media outlets.
The group began performing the procedures more than a year and a half ago and launched the institute in March.
The process of utilizing a patient’s own stem cells — which are derived from bone marrow — to organically rebuild cartilage, collagen, tendon, and bone is taking off within orthopedics, sources within the physician community informed the San Antonio Express News.
The doctors also underscored that the procedure does not involve the use of embryonic stem cells.
“This is a very straight forward application of cells from your own body,” said Joshi, who is an orthopedic spine surgeon, to Reporter Advocate. “You’re minimally manipulating them, and you’re returning them back to the patient.”
Per the San Antonio Express News:
The therapy involves withdrawing a patient’s bone marrow stem cells from his or her hip, concentrating those cells and injecting them directly into the damaged joint or tendon, using musculoskeletal ultrasound technology to reach the most severely affected areas. Once preliminary exams are out of the way, the stem cell therapy can be done in one doctor’s office visit, typically lasting an hour, while the patient is under mild sedation.
The procedure also can reduce pain and inflammation, and could bolster the numbers of people who are running and working out to keep fit, said Hall, an anesthesiologist and pain-management doctor.
“There’s a lot of younger people getting severe joint damage,” he told the Express News. “Now there’s an alternative for them to surgery.”
However, while the treatments being offered by Joshi and his colleagues are not as expensive as those offered by surgical centers, a single session still costs thousands of dollars out-of-pocket since health insurance does not provide coverage yet. But booking a treatment with Joshi, Hirsch and Hall’s office can save a patient between $1,500 to $2,000 in the long run, reported the Mirror Daily.
“Surgery is pretty invasive, can be disruptive and has a known set of complications,” Joshi remarked to Reporter Advocate. “Stem cells represent a powerful, natural option that can reduce inflammation, reduce pain and maybe make it unnecessary to go through surgery.”
According to his LinkedIn profile, Joshi’s specialties include clinical research, process and systems analysis, minimally invasive surgery, and the implementation of titanium rib implants. He received his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College in 1992 and launched directly into Harvard Medical School, from where he graduated in 1997 before completing a fellowship in the Department of Orthopedics at Baylor College of Medicine.