GULF BREEZE — Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine now offers an edge implantation treatment for patients with joint cartilage injuries.
The osteochondral allograft transfer system, or OATS, increases the return-to-play rate for athletes with joint cartilage injuries, according to a media release.
“The standard of care for athletes with these injuries has been microfracture surgery,” said Steve Jordan, M.D. “Although microfracture remains a safe and effective option for many patients, the published return-to-play rate of 60 percent for athletes is not what we would like. Return to sports rates after OATS procedures (is) closer to 90 percent, and they appear to hold up better over time as well…”
Traditional OATS procedures use an autograft, a piece of healthy living tissue from the patient that is surgically transferred to the injured site. The preferred procedure performed by Andrews Institute physicians uses fresh tissue from a donor, called an allograft. The allograft eliminates the need to remove living tissue from the patient, reducing the amount of surgery the patient requires.
The procedure also features the use of a fresh allograft instead of frozen tissue used in some OATS procedures.
“Research evidence has shown that a fresh allograft has a better success rate than a frozen and stored allograft.” Dr. Jordan said. “The problem has been availability of size-matched grafts. In most cases, the turnaround time approaches two weeks.”
However, through partnerships developed with industry leaders, physicians at Andrews Institute have better access to fresh allografts and have also greatly decreased the turnaround time to acquire them. In a recent case involving a professional athlete, matching donor tissue was acquired for next-day surgery and successfully implanted within 24 hours of notification of need, according to the release.
While ideal for athletes and active individuals, the procedure is available to anyone with joint cartilage injuries.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Faster joint cartilage injury treatment now available in Gulf Breeze