Search Here

Patients who show a tear in the knee's meniscus turn to surgery, though the pain might be persistent. A new replacement, called the NUsurface Meniscus Implant, was recently given to a man from Boston, which could help to remove the pain.

It happened to Rob Price, who tore a meniscus even as he played basketball. Ever since then, he has been suffering.

"Pain every day," Price told WCVB. "Without the meniscus, I have bone on bone."

In any knee, the meniscus becomes a shock absorber. However, with age, it deteriorates. If it is torn, there would be nothing to absorb the impact of the bones on each other, which makes every step a nightmare.

Rob Price was the first to get the implant. But the device is still awaiting approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Performed by orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Andreas Gomoll at Brigham and Women's Hospital, the surgery has drawn a lot of interest.

The implant got inserted between the bones of the knee and was held in place with screws.

"It has a pretty complex shape that conforms to the shape of the knee joint," Gomoll told WCVB. "You don't have to cut bone, you don't have to permanently alter the anatomy of the knee joint itself."

It also speeded up recovery by a couple of months.

"There was nothing really like this before," Gomoll said, according to The Boston Globe.

Rob Price is excited and hopes for a miraculous recovery.

"Hopefully this will make everything better," Price said. "I hope it works well for me and it gives other people the same opportunity."