FDA approves knee-injury device for humans

The device will help with chronic tears and provide access to blood and cells as the body works to repair...and there's potential use in store for animals as well...a new way to repair joint tissues and keeping them healthy...BD

COLUMBIA, Mo. A new knee-surgery device investigated by University of Missouri-Columbia researchers that will help to repair meniscus tears, which were previously defined as irreparable, has been approved by the FDA for use in humans. Previous treatment options forced surgeons to completely remove the damaged portion of the meniscus. Typically the removal of the meniscus leads to painful, debilitating arthritis in the knee. Herb Schwartz, president and CEO of Schwartz Biomedical, LLC, and James Cook, MU professor of veterinary medicine and surgery and William C. Allen Endowed Scholar for Orthopedic Research in MUs College of Veterinary Medicine, developed the BioDuct Meniscal Fixation Device. Schwartz and Cook believe that patients with meniscus tears will now be able to have their meniscus saved along with long-term knee function.