NON-SURGICAL SOLUTION FOR KNEE ARTHRITIS: KNEE ANGIO
The "Geniculate Artery Embolisation" technique, which stands out as an alternative method to surgical intervention in knee arthritis and is an operation that takes approximately 1 hour, increases the quality of life of patients.
Ankara Atatürk Sanatorium Training and Research Hospital Interventional Radiology Specialist Assoc. Prof. Dr. Emin Çakmakçı said that the "Geniculate Artery Embolisation" (GAE) technique, which stands out as an innovative method in knee pain, has achieved over 80 percent success, especially in the under 65 and suitable patient group.
Çakmakçı said that knee arthritis can be controlled in the early stages with diet, weight control, joint fluid injections and collagen supplements, but in the advanced stages, patients cannot even do their daily activities.
Arthritis can progress with aging Stating that knee arthritis can also progress as a result of aging, Çakmakçı said, "In time, the person's walking function is restricted. Difficulty begins in bending and straightening up, praying, etc. In this case, the person starts to pray sitting down, has difficulty bending down and picking up something from the ground. When all of these come together, the person can become unable to do their own work."
Çakmakçı stated that the "Geniculate Artery Embolization" method comes to the fore in the treatment of advanced stages of knee arthritis, and said, "If the person has middle and advanced stage arthritis, if there is no accompanying meniscus tear, bone fracture, advanced trauma in the cartilage, that is, if there is no process that requires a hundred percent surgery or leads to surgery, we can intervene with this technique." Çakmakçı provided the following information about the details of the procedure known as knee angiography:
"We first evaluate the patient's X-ray and then MRI in detail. If there is mid- and advanced-stage calcification, if the patient is 65 years old or younger and does not have an uncontrolled systemic disease or bleeding disorder, we evaluate them in terms of suitability for the procedure. Then, we examine the patient with ultrasound and determine whether the patient is in the appropriate patient group for this treatment by evaluating the edema, damage, degree of calcification and other accompanying factors in the knee joint." Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çakmakçı stated that during the procedure, they enter the patient's groin artery with ultrasound accompanied by an angiogram and proceed to the knee, and shared the information, "We call the equipment we use in angiography catheters. We administer medication with these and detect the area in the knee that causes edema due to calcification and the knee vein that causes edema." "There is 80 percent patient satisfaction" Çakmakçı, who stated that there are 4 veins feeding the knee and one of them usually causes edema, said that during the procedure, they find the vein that causes edema and enter it, close the vein that is the source of the edema fluid in the leaking joint, and then complete the procedure by taking control shots.
Çakmakçı, who stated that the procedure takes at most one hour, noted the following:
"If you treat the appropriate patient appropriately, our patient satisfaction is 80 percent and above. If the patient has rheumatoid arthritis or serious diabetes, hypertension, or systemic diseases such as diseases affecting the joints, or if the person is over 65 years old, if the disease has advanced and there is no longer a vein causing edema there and the bones are completely stuck together, then these patients should not be treated. The most important thing that reduces patient satisfaction and benefit rates is edema in the joint." Çakmakçı stated that there are two types of calcification and that the GAE method is more effective especially in wet type knee calcification, where edema and fluid increase in the joint.
