Illinois-based NG Vascular & Vein Center is providing a new therapy for patients with knee osteoarthritis.
The nonsurgical procedure aims to reduce pain and inflammation for those who don't want total knee replacement surgery. The minimally invasive procedure is called genicular artery embolization. On average, patients report significantly less pain after having the procedure, according to Dr. Nazar Golewale, NG Vascular interventional radiologist.
“The pain patients experience with osteoarthritis is the direct result of abnormal blood vessels that supply the synovium and cause ongoing inflammation,” Golewale said in a press release.
Research has yielded new information about how osteoarthritis forms. It is now known that vascular changes occur within the synovium, the thick band of tissues that surround and lubricate the knee joint, before cartilage degeneration occurs. These changes cause inflammation that leads to cartilage erosion.
Golewale called the procedure a simple, elegant solution. Doctors use imaging to guide a catheter to the abnormal blood vessels within the knee. They inject micro-particles that travel into smaller vessels and become lodged. This reduces blood flow to normal levels, decreasing inflammation and symptoms.
“While total knee replacement is considered the gold standard treatment, there has long been a need for an alternative procedure for those in pain but who are not surgical candidates,” he added. “Furthermore, two-thirds of those eligible for knee surgery simply refuse to have it.”
Golewale said the new procedure provides an alternative, and many patients may not need surgery in the future.
The new procedure will be available at NG Vascular & Vein Center’s locations in Chicago and Northern Indiana.
