Stem cell and Arthritis?

[tatlim]

I broke my ankle 7 years ago and am having awful trouble with it now. I have pins either side of my leg and im sure i can feel them moving.The pain fluctuates but sometimes i cant even put my foot on the floor....Does anybody know anything about stem cell surgery and if it could be used in casesd like mine? x

[Kathyfitz12]

Go see your rsurgeon or at least your GP - a friend had the pins removed because they were causing her great discomfort & all is well now. In fact it's quite common to have pins removed......Good Luck don't suffer in silence.

[tatlim]

i have a drs appointment tomorrow.Im worried as the surgeon who put the pins in said my bones were as soft as cheese and he could push his finger into them. Im also worried they may suggest fusing it which i dont want. x

[Victoria-NRAS Partner Moderator NRAS]

Hi Tatlim

I'm really sorry to hear that you are in so much pain and discomfort. We have looked into stem cell treatment for people before, but there seems to be very little going on in terms of stem cell treatment for RA patients. Also, that was looking at stem cell treatment as a possible treatment for the RA itself, rather than for a specific area in place of joint surgery. I've had a look online and found an article on the NHS website from 2010 saying that research on rabbits showed that joint repair with stem cells might be possible, but if this is used on humans I think this will be quite a way down the line, so from what I've seen, I don't think this is possible at the moment. Here is the article I found:

nhs.uk/news/2010/July07/Pag...

I know that fusion surgery can be very off-putting, but under some circumstances it can be the best solution, as what you lose in mobility you could gain in pain control, and you may find that although movement of the ankle will be restricted, your overall mobility might actually be improved if currently you sometimes cannot put your weight on that foot.

Hopefully speaking to your GP and at some stage a surgeon will help to lay out the options. You may also find the annual Public and Patient Guide produced by the National Joint Registry useful:

njrcentre.org.uk/NjrCentre/...

Hope that helps

Victoria

(NRAS Helpline)