Andrews Institute Physicians Provide State-of-the-Art Treatment for Cartilage Injury
Andrews Institute Physicians Provide State-of-the-Art Treatment for Cartilage Injury
GULF BREEZE, Fla. (June 2, 2016) ‐ Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine now offers a leading edge implantation treatment for patients with joint cartilage injuries. The procedure, known as osteochondral allograft transfer system (OATS), greatly increases the return to play rate for athletes with articular (joint) cartilage injuries.
“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 are closer to 90 percent and they appear to hold up better over time as well. We are using this proven technique at Andrews Institute to help athletes return to play safer and faster.”
Traditional OATS procedures utilize an autograft, a piece of healthy living tissue from the patient that is surgically transferred to the injured site. The preferred procedure performed by the physicians at Andrews Institute 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. This avoids the issue of pain or injury at the donor site, allowing a faster, less complicated recovery.
The procedure at Andrews Institute 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.
James R. Andrews, M.D., Adam Anz, M.D., and Dr. Jordan are leading the effort to provide athletes the latest in cartilage treatment at Andrews Institute. While ideal for athletes and active individuals, this procedure is available to anyone with joint cartilage injuries.
“Dr. Andrews has always been about putting the patient first,” Dr. Jordan said. “He understands that athletes have a small window of time to save their careers when they suffer a cartilage injury. Dr. Andrews realizes that we need to efficiently perform the best new techniques that are proven to increase an athlete’s return to play rate.”
