Stem cell therapy

Stem cell therapy to inhibit inflammation (injection of stem cells):

Stem cells are the body's repair cells. On the one hand they have an anti-inflammatory effect, on the other hand they are pluripotent cells, i.e. cells that can transform into other cells and regenerate tissue.

The anti-inflammatory effect is used for injections into inflamed joints. According to studies, the anti-inflammatory effect of stem cell therapy is stronger than that of cortisone injections, especially as the stem cells can continue to multiply in the joint.

Stem cell therapy for cartilage reconstruction in osteoarthritis (after surgery):

However, if we want to use the ability of stem cells as repair cells and create a cartilage reconstruction in osteoarthritis, this is only possible as part of an operation. The stem cells introduced into the affected joint are transformed into cartilage cells (pluripotent cells). In this technique, the cartilage defects are milled arthroscopically (abrasion arthroplasty) and the defects are drilled into (pilot drilling). This fills the cartilage defects with a "blood cake". By additionally injecting the body's own stem cells into the affected joint at the end of the arthroscopic operation, this blood cake is transformed not only into scar tissue but also into a new cartilage layer. The great advantage of stem cell therapy over cartilage cell cultivation is the fact that stem cells, as repair cells of the body, "attach" to the wound on their own and do not need to be fixed. This is not the case with cartilage cultivation. Cultured cartilage cells are difficult to attach to the desired area. This is all the more important as the cartilage cells die immediately when biological adhesives (fibrin glue) are used. This is also the reason why cartilage repair with stem cells can be carried out arthroscopically, but repair with cartilage cell preparation cannot. Dr. Krebs is one of the first surgeons in the world to use this technique since 2006 and has been able to prove in histological studies that the additional use of the body's own stem cells in cartilage reconstruction enables a physiological, three-dimensional structure of the cartilage regenerate. This was not the case without stem cells. As a result, the bioprosthesis, i.e. the combination of axial correction, abrasion arthroplasty and drilling and the body's own stem cell therapy, was expanded. Stem cells can be taken from the bone marrow through a bone marrow puncture or from the abdominal fat tissue.

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Stem cell therapy for bone necrosis and pseudarthrosis

The ability of stem cells to transform into other cell types as repair cells of the body (pluripotent cells) can be used in bone necrosis, i.e. the death of bone cells. The stem cells are transformed into bone cells. Dr. Krebs has been using the body's own stem cell therapy to treat osteochondrosis dissecans as well as pseudarthrosis (non-healing bone fractures) since 2005 as one of the first orthopaedic surgeons worldwide.

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