Meniscal Mending

A breakthrough knee therapy moves out of the doghouse.

An implant tested in models designed by MU's Comparative Orthopaedic Laboratory has healed dozens of "irreparable" knee injuries in dogs. Now, thanks to approval by the Food and Drug Administration, it may soon be doing the same for people.

FDA approval means surgeons can use the BioDuct Meniscal Fixation Device -- the genesis of which was described in the Fall 2004 edition of Illumination -- to heal and preserve, rather than remove, damaged knee tissue in the tens of thousands of human patients who suffer meniscus-related injuries each year.

The meniscus provides shock absorption and joint stability in the knee. When its function is compromised, bone rubs on bone. This is not only painful, explains COL director and MU professor James Cook, but also promotes the development and progression of arthritis.

Because two-thirds of the meniscus is avascular, or lacking its own blood supply, most tears don't repair themselves without intervention. The BioDuct device, by transporting blood and cells from the vascular portion of the knee to the avascular portion of the meniscus, significantly improves the odds for tissue re-growth and healing. During the device's development and testing, for example, Cook's research team performed the BioDuct surgery on 25 dogs with avascular meniscal tears. All 25 eventually showed functional repair.

"In the past, when faced with meniscus injuries, surgeons were often forced to completely remove the torn meniscal cartilage, leaving a deficient knee that was doomed to develop arthritis," says Cook. "With the BioDuct Meniscal Fixation Device, surgeons will be able to repair many more torn menisci and induce healing. People with meniscus injuries now have a better future ahead."

Cook, the William C. Allen Endowed Professor for Orthopedic Research at MU, developed the procedure for implantation and testing of the BioDuct in consultation with BioDuct inventor Herb Schwartz, president and CEO of Schwartz Biomedical, a Fort Wayne, Ind., company specializing in tissue engineering. Cooks' most recent meniscus-related research findings were published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine.

Published by the Office of Research.

©2009 Curators of the University of Missouri. Click here to contact the editor.