Doctors at the Christus Santa Rosa Hospital in San Antonio have used a stem cell treatment to heal injuries of a 15-year old boy named Derek Hernandez. The treatment was used to repair an injury to Derek’s meniscus which occurred while playing indoor soccer.

It was a one-of-a-kind treatment performed by an orthopaedic surgeon named Matthew Murray. It is not the first time that the doctors have used a stem cell treatment to heal injuries, but it was the first time a meniscus injury of this severity has been treated.   

Derek has loved soccer since he was 5-years old, following in the footsteps of his father. A few months ago, he was playing indoor soccer when he landed on his left knee awkwardly. He immediately knew something was seriously wrong, saying: “I felt this popping sensation. I was screaming in pain where I had to keep my knee in a certain position where it wouldn’t hurt.”

Dr. Murray performed an MRI on the injured limb and found that it was a serious meniscus tear in the knee — an important ligament for knee function. One of the doctors suggested removing the meniscus because it was so badly damaged. That would have seriously impaired Derek’s movement and ability to play soccer in the future.

Dr. Murray had used a stem cell treatment to heal injuries in the past, although they were not as severe ad Derek’s knee injury. Because Derek was so young, Dr. Murray wanted to save the meniscus. 

He began by harvesting stem cells from Derek’s bone marrow. That bone marrow was sent to a centrifuge machine for processing. It was then re-injected into Derek’s knee, in an effort to repair the damaged tissue.

Within a few weeks, the stem cells were repairing the meniscus and Derek was getting some movement back. Doctors expect him to be playing soccer next season!

Source: Doctor Using New Stem Cell Treatment to Heal Injuries

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