Stem Cells Limb Repair
Extensive limb damage to the point where amputation was the only solution has long been a problem for many medical professionals throughout the world, with crushed limbs in particular posing the greatest risk due to the fact that the bone can easily be damaged well beyond its own natural ability to repair itself.
Such was the case in England up until recently, where a new technique creating a “stem cell glue” has enabled a patient with a crushed leg to not only save his leg from amputation but be well on the way to making a full recovery, with a 100% return in leg functionality expected a mere 18 months after the initial treatment commenced.
The “glue” comes as a combination of a medical paste known as Cartifill and stem cells harvested from bone marrow extracted from the patient’s own hip. By combining the two substances and then applying it to the bone fragments within the damaged leg (having a total of 5 breaks and one compound fracture near the ankle after a boulder fell on the leg in a rock climbing accident) the fragments were then readjusted within the leg and held in place for 6 months with an external metal clamp in order to allow them to take hold. 6 months after the paste was applied and the cage removed the patient was able to support his entire body weight on the damaged leg, and is expected to be able to run on it one year after treatment once the bone has finished mending itself.
The paste Cartifill was originally designed by South Korean professor Seok Jung Kim and was intended at first to be a part of a cartilage replacement procedure wherein adult stem cells are mixed with the paste and then used to induce regeneration of damaged cartilage, particularly in knees. Thus far the paste has shown a number of successes in treating these cases as well, with roughly 80% of all patients undergoing Certifill stem cell treatment for knee repair reporting successful recoveries.
Further studies are currently being conducted in the UK with Professor Kim working to support other uses of the Cartifill solution assist with limb damage, potentially even assisting with the re-attaching of severed limbs by providing much needed support in reconnecting damaged muscle, bone and nerve tissue that may be damaged during the severing process. Current treatments utilizing this stem cell method are also relatively inexpensive, costing a few hundred Pounds at most, making it a highly affordable medical solution for many injured individuals.
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