13
December
2018
|
07:00 AM
America/New_York

Synthetic Cartilage Offers Better Quality of Life

Orthopedics This Week features HSS patients Joy and Arthur Leinoff, who both got a new lease on life after a new synthetic cartilage toe implant.

"He tried everything, from ibuprofen to all kinds of liniments, you name it. He was desperate, but he didn't want to have the joint in his big toe fused because that would end his tennis career and a lot of other things we like to do," said Joy about her husband. Joy herself had progressively worse pain and was unable to wear high heels.

In 2017, Joy had the synthetic cartilage (Cartiva) implanted in the big toe on her left foot and a few months later, so did Arthur.

Both are now pain-free and have resumed their active lifestyles.

"In carefully selected patients, I've seen the synthetic cartilage work well. Many have gotten back to activities they enjoy," Andrew J. Elliott, MD, foot and ankle surgeon at HSS explains. "Still, we caution patients not to engage in intense athletics or exercises that put extreme stress on their toe to ensure that the implant will last."

Read the full article at Ryortho.com