Good Luck For Bad Knees: Uni-Spacer

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Full Text of Article Don Mentioned

Earlier:<br><br>Good News For Bad Knees<br>LA Times, Dec. 10,

2001<br><br> As much as some of us may loathe our knees--for

the unreliable, sore, creaking company they

provide--we'd just as soon keep them. Even a run-down,

sports-scarred, crunchy pair of walking joints seems more noble

than knee replacements, as useful as those prosthetics

can be.<br><br>That's why orthopedic surgeons

nationwide are encouraged by experiments with a device,

called the Uni Spacer, that is inserted in the knee to

restore stability and alignment while relieving arthritis

pain.<br><br>About 170 patients in the United States have received

the UniSpacer, which has been approved by the Food

and Drug Administration but for now is available only

to patients in research studies. Surgeons insert the

device through a small incision in the knee during a

one-hour procedure, says Dr. Marc J. Friedman of the

Southern California Orthopedic Institute in Van Nuys. No

alteration to the surrounding bone or soft tissue is

required. The device works by providing a smooth surface

for bones to glide over when the knee cartilage has

worn away. Some patients experience immediate pain

relief and improved knee function as soon as six weeks,

Friedman said.<br><br>The device won't help everyone with

knee pain. The best candidates are healthy people with

arthritis only in the medial, or inside, compartment of the

knee joint.<br><br>--Shari Roan