The world's first dedicated meniscus transplant center opened today at The Stone Clinic in San Francisco, offering arthritic, bone-on-bone patients an alternative to knee replacement surgery.

Since the late 1980's, transplantation of the meniscus has been performed infrequently and usually only in healthy, young knees. In 2010, however, a study published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery showed that a meniscus transplant combined with an articular cartilage stem cell paste graft procedure can delay knee replacement for an average of 9.9 years, even in the presence of arthritis. The study also reported a 79% success rate at reducing pain and improving function among meniscus transplant patients with arthritic knees over the long term.

The meniscus transplant market could be huge. Every year, 1.3 million people around the world are recommended to undergo knee replacement surgery. Many of these patients, often younger than 60, "are told to sit at home and wait for their knee replacement," says orthopedic surgeon Kevin R. Stone, MD. "However, the technology and expertise exists that can return them to their activities and keep them from having a knee replacement for an average of approximately 10 years."

A video of the surgical technique is available on the center's website.

Dan O'Connor