Meniscus tear repair surgery patient 2 years post-op - Collagen Meniscus Implant (CMI)
I'm Gina. Two years ago, I had the CMI procedure in my left knee. I had meniscus injury, a torn meniscus pretty severely.
We did MRI just today at my two-year checkup and my cartilage is back, versus if you do the meniscectomy, you end up with no cartilage, and when your bone rubs on bone, this is what increases your risk of arthritis later in life dramatically. And also all those people who end up with one little knee procedure, another knee procedure, eventually going into full knee replacement, I don't want to be that person. I'm a skier, I'm a biker, I'm a hiker. And I think what I did, the investment I made into my health for myself, is going to pay off that I can do this for years to come.
Right now it's two years after the procedure. I had a full skiing season, didn't even think about my knees. A couple of weeks ago, I went for 14 miles-long hike in Marin Headlands with lots of ups and downs. Again, I didn't even need to ice my knee. I was convinced that that would not happen for me, that I was permanently in the camp of people with, quote-unquote, "bad knees," and some activities were just off the table for me forever. And it is not the case and I could not be happier.
Gina Profile
Dr. Stone reconstructed Gina's meniscus using a Collagen Meniscus Implant (CMI), an implant that he personally designed to offer a physical scaffold upon which new meniscus tissue can grow. With this implant, missing segments of meniscus cartilage can be selectively replaced by sewing in the scaffold and inducing remodeling. Patients with joint pain caused by loss of this natural shock absorber, like Gina, experience relief from suffering through this restoration of their meniscus.
