The power of fat, your fat!
Editor’s notes: 1. This post has been created for osteoarthritis sufferers. 2. The American Journal of Orthopedics published a paper in November, 2018: Safety and Efficacy of Micro-Fractured Adipose Tissue for Knee Arthritis. The senior author was Dr. Mitchell Sheinkop, now Jointechlabs’ Medical Director. It was a ground breaking scientific document at the time.
The Power of Fat
When I grew up, my grandmother and mother fed me chicken soup for whatever ailed me. Many patients are looking for another option to major invasive surgery. Fat has many important cells and is easy to get from the patient’s body. A patient’s own body fat that is micro-fragmented (known clinically as micro-fragmented adipose tissue) may be an option for patients who have tried physical therapy, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or steroid injections, and other treatments that have not provided enough relief. This blog post (https://jointechlabs.com/when-bmac-bone-marrow-isnt-indicated-microfat/), created for medical professionals, describes the indications for micro-fragmented adipose tissue.
The use of fat for tissue repair has a long history (though not as long as the use of chicken soup). “Fat has been used for many years in support of the repair or replacement of damaged or injured tissue,” according to Dr. Arnold Caplan of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. “Fat has a high concentration of reparative cells and is a very powerful tissue. How the fat is processed makes a huge difference on the tissue quality and if it meets FDA guidelines.” (Note- Dr. Caplan recently passed away.)
Micro-fragmented Adipose Tissue (Microfat)
In 2013 a company called Lipogems created the first FDA approved method for use in processing adipose tissue for orthopedics. That proprietary name was applied to a Micro-fragmented Adipose Tissue Transplant System that was the technology I introduced and monitored in a scientific clinical trial dating back three years earlier leading to the publication. Federal regulators had cleared the way for the device and technology that uses a patient’s own body fat to assist in the healing process.
Fast forward to the present and it is Jointechlabs’ MiniTC system that is of interest and attractive to orthobiologic physicians. This is because of compliance with the latest FDA guidelines and cleared for use in orthopedics. In addition to meeting the regulatory requirements, MiniTC uniquely overcomes the technical and biological deficiencies of other microfat solutions.
Microfat May be Right for You
Let’s now fast forward to my breakfast meeting this morning. I was asked about any possible recourse for a 46 year old woman who has bilateral knee replacement with one knee already having been revised because of loosening. That same knee is now very problematic and there have been two recent recommendations for yet another complex revision. Looking back, what if the patient had either known about or sought out the orthobiologic microfat option when she was still in her late thirties? “Bone on Bone” in the 30’s is a questionable diagnosis. The indication for a knee replacement in the 30s, 40s, and 50s is questionable. Joint preservation with orthobiologics such as microfragmented adipose tissue for grades 2-3 osteoarthritis was then and is now an emerging standard of care.
Visit the Jointechlabs, Inc. web site at https://www.jointechlabs.com/consumers to learn more about microfragmented adispose tissue. While there, discover the power of fat and the MiniTC microfat processing system. To find a physician near you that is qualified call us at (800) 217-0491.